Weight of the Burden
by Split Persona
Summary: Legolas made a choice that changed the fate of many people he cared for, deciding to bear the secret of a burden on his own forever. But when Fate changes once again can he still carry the weight? Or will it be too late? SLASH !COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

Kathrine: I know you all are probably angry with us…

JC: We do have a good defense! Jen and Kat have spent the last two weeks working our buts off on this story!

Kathrine: This was going to be a one-shot but it ended up sooo long that we cut it into chapters.

JC: Don't expect too much action. It's really going to really angsty though.

Kathrine: We have been thinking about this little idea for a long while and just couldn't get it out of our system until we wrote.

JC: Be glad that we are about three chapters away from finishing it! Most of it written and we'll post a chapter every few days, like every four or five.

Kathrine: This will probably be one of the fastest chapter stories we've ever written.

JC: So here ya, go hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: We do not own Lord of the Rings or its characters. We just don't plan on giving them back…ever.

Warnings: Slash, Angst, Romance, Mpreg, Slightly AU (not sure), Incest (Elladan/Elrohir), a Lemon later on MMOrg and AFFNet when they're back up and running. And even FFNet if they promise not to tell on us.

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Weight of the Burden

By Jennifer and JC

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Chapter 1

He stared out into the dimming light of the afternoon, his eyes weary and saddened. It was only when he was alone, when no other was there to see him cry. Very few could say they had seen him in the throws of sorrow and despair, for lately he had worn a mask of indifference, nothingness. A hand traveled down to rest against the swell of his stomach, taking in the feel of the kick that distracted him. A smile came to his lips, even if it was small, for the presence within him was the only reason why he sought life instead of grief, for the life he carried inside.

" Very soon little one," he spoke it. " Your time will come very soon, only three more months."

" Legolas."

He turned to the door, his eyes widening. " Estel!" his surprised was apparent. " What brings you here? Why have you come to Ithilien?"

" Can a poor weary Ranger not come to see his dearest friend?" the dark-haired man inquired. " And here I thought you would be glad to see me after nine months."

The blonde turned to the window once more. " You have a kingdom, people to care for," he replied. " The luxury of travel has been greatly limited for you. It is not that I do not appreciate your company."

" Then why will you not turn to me so I may see if you actually aged in all this time?" his friend asked.

" You know that Elves do not age greatly after their majority," the Lord of Ithilien stated coolly. " At most definitely not within the span of a few short months."

" Humor me?" the King requested. " I would love to believe I am not the only one of us that ages so. It is rather depressing, not even the halflings seem overly changed, but it has only been eleven months."

" I have not changed, as I have not done so in the last four hundred and more years since my own majority," he told him. " I do not see your point to this."

His heard rather than saw Elessar shifting on his feet. " Why do you hide from me, _mellonamin_?"

" Because I know why you ask and I know what it is you would say should I give in." He let out a deep sorrowful sigh before turning around the face the Man he had known for sixty years of his life. The prince wore a long pale green robe, the color of a fresh leaf bud on a tree in _Tuile_. But even so, it did not hide the busting swell of his abdomen.

Aragorn's eyes widened at the sight. He did not truly believe that the rumors of those passing through the Elven sect of Ithilien, but then he received the letter from the chief healer of Legolas' people himself. He had admitted to going against his lord's desire by calling upon his aide, but pointed out that there had been slight difficulties during the duration of his pregnancy, that he had not the skill to take on. And it was the hope of the healer, Mithfenor, that being trained by the great healer Lord Elrond would have given him teaching or at least access to books from Imladris so that they could find out what to do. Too many people speaking the same 'rumor', especially ones of great credibility, left him with nothing less to do than find out the truth firsthand. Now he knew that none of them had been wrong.

" I did not truly believe them," he spoke, ending the deafening silence within the room. " I thought they were mistaken by who they spoke of. I knew it was possible, for a Male Silvan Elf to bear a child, but did not believe that it was you who they all spoke of."

Legolas did not turn his eyes away, but stared straight into the other deep gray eyes. " Do you think less of me now, do you think me lower than before because I am with child?" His question was honest and yet unemotional, as if the blonde _Edhel_ was trying so hard not to release how he felt.

" Nay! Never shall I ever think any less of you!" Estel strode quickly to the divan and sat down, placing a comforting hand on the Elf's shoulder. " If anything, I think more of you for having the courage to go through something that no Man would ever think of agreeing to." He then thought of the one question he was not sure if he could ask but knew if would be best if he did so now. " Who is its sire?"

" That I cannot tell you," he said softly. " That would only bring about more pain than you or I could deal with. 'Tis best that no one know the truth save myself." He didn't point out that ONE other knew…but said one had been sworn to a secrecy that he knew would not be broken.

" This is why you left?" the dark-haired man asked. " Why? I would not have allowed it to become public information. Why hide yourself for so long? Unless… the sire is within the walls of the White City."

" Nay," Legolas shook his head. " Not anymore."

" Did he leave you?" Aragorn's voice was slightly edged. " Did he leave you when he found out of this? If he would leave knowing that you-"

Legolas placed his own hand on the arm of his friend to calm him while letting out a small laugh. " Always the valiant protector, eh Estel?" he questioned. " You seek to restore honor that has not truly been lost. My people are happy this has happened. They see that I finally have an heir and that my child will be the last true Edhel born to Middle Earth. I was not left, for the sire does not know."

" What?" Gray eyes were becoming accustomed to widening with the surprises his friend brought about. " Why? I know how you feel about family Legolas, especially your own, why would you deny such knowledge to your child's father?"

" Free spirits are not meant to be tied down, especially when it is not planned," the Lord of Ithilien spoke. " Would you seek to lock Arwen away within your stone walls forever, binding her to you so that she may never feel the beauty of the sun or see the golden trees of Lothlórien ever again? You would believe it was the right thing, but in the end she would learn to hate you for denying her the freedom she has always known."

" But Arwen and I are wed," he replied. " Our situation is different than yours."

" Not really, only some circumstances," he contradicted. " Or perhaps I am more inclined to see Arwen's side. You know that she is your Queen, your love until you lie upon your deathbed and even longer. She willing gave herself to you for your love. She chose to become Queen to those she barely knew, to forsake her immortality, to help you resurrect a near dead city, and to provide you heirs in the future. She did so because she loves you. And it is in love that I refuse to destroy a freedom that I have always cherished and loved. She gave up much to be your Queen and I in turn will not force another to give up what I know would hurt them, all for love."

Aragorn now understood the full depth of his beloved friend's sorrowful decision. He loved whoever's child he bore and it was out of love that he bore his situation alone. He would not do anything that might cause tension, hate, or unrest between the sire and himself. But he also saw that Legolas was paying for his decision. The blonde was pale, much paler than he had ever seen him, save when he was lying near death after being wounded, and it worried him. His hair had grown longer, most likely due to the hormones his body produced for the child, but was less kept. Eyes that would normally sparkle the blue of the starry sky at night were dull and tired. He was far thinner than the King had ever thought he would see him.

" Oh Legolas," he sighed sadly before bringing the blonde into his arms in a reassuring embrace. " You might believe you have to face this alone, but I am here for you as you have always been there for me. You must allow me to take care of you, even if only for a short amount of time. Come with me to Minas Tirith."

" Nay," the other declined. " It would only cause unwanted attention and speculations."

The Man sighed. " Your are right. But does your father know? What would he say to finding out his youngest child is _with_ child?"

Legolas smiled at that. " I sent him a letter five months ago, I knew that if told no other save those in Ithilien, I would still have to tell him. My brothers and sister were most upset with me, for I did not come home myself, but we have only just now finished building our home at the ending of _Yávie_. I could not abandon the people who followed me here out of good faith. My father was more than somewhat angered because I am without proper mate or pending mate. He demanded the name of the sire and that I go the Eryn Lasgalen as soon as I am able. But…then he also wished my child well and told me that Glosshen and Goldhînen would be in Ithilien by the day of my conception."

" So he was not as angry as I would have thought him to be," Aragorn gave a small breath of relief.

" You?" Legolas repeated. " I was sure he would ride out of Eryn Lasgalen as if he were riding to battle Sauron himself and force me to return home so that I would give up my child upon birth."

Once again, Aragorn was confused. " Why would he demand of you such a thing? King Thranduil could not be so strict as to actually expect such a thing from you!"

" But most times he would," Legolas stated. " Had I gotten a maiden pregnant, he would believe what I had done to be unfaithful and disgraceful to the crown of our family and forced me to marry her, whether or not it was not a loving relationship. But that would have been if I had done such a thing with a _maiden_. I did not even know I was capable of carrying child and neither did he. And the fact that it gives Ithilien an heir should anything happen to me tempered his anger. But the days of Elves are indeed fading, I shall not leave you until your are no longer part of this world and it matters not the fact that my child has no sire. He will be a child of Ithilien and most likely the last of the line of Oropher born to Middle Earth."

Aragorn placed a hand upon his comrade's pale one. " I am here for you, mellonamin," he told him, his tone proving his seriousness. " Shall you need anything I will help you. Arwen would kill me if I did anything else."

Legolas gave a laugh before a horn was sounded outside the window. He turned in confusion, not understanding the call. It was not the Warning Call for if Orcs or other creatures were near. It was urgent though, telling that someone was coming. He wondered momentarily why a call wasn't sounded when Aragorn arrived. There was a knock on his door and he looked to it. " Enter!" he called.

The door opened and an Elf-maiden entered, bowing respectfully. " Two riders come at high speed," she told them. " They are your brother and sister, my lord. But they have come early."

" Yes, a month early," he agreed. " But then something must be-" His words were halted by a sudden jolt of pain that went through his body, his hands going to abdomen instinctively."

" Legolas?" Aragorn steadied him, keeping him from tilting over.

" O-Oh n-no-o-o," Legolas gritted his teeth. " It's time…th-the ba-bab-by…Oh Vala-ar!"

" Now?!" Gray eyes widened. " But I believed that birth should only happen after reaching the day of conception?"

" T-Too soon," Legolas nodded shakily as he took in another deep breath. " Something is wrong! E-Estel! Something is wrong!"

Aragorn stood, pulling the blonde with him. " We have to get to the Healing wing!"

" Gol-dhînen…Glosssss-hen," he murmured. " They knnnnew…th-that's wh-why…" His voice was taken as he clenched his teeth, holding out as the next spasm past.

" No time for speaking, my friend," Aragorn told him. " You know you've become quite talkative since I last saw you. This pregnancy has done you some good indeed."

" I-I sh-shall h-hurrrrrt you!" the blonde Elf growled deep in his throat, his eyes pained but showing they intended to go through with their threat. He let out a small cry of pain then. " Some-th-thing is wrong!" The pain was beginning to overwhelm him as his eyes rolled in the back of his head and he collapsed limply against the dark-haired man.

" Nay, Legolas!" he caught the archer as he fell, and held him as carefully as he could with his condition. Now he could tell most definitely that the blonde had lost weight, for he felt lighter than before, even though he was carrying another within him. He looked to the Elf-maiden who waited for instructions by the door. " Have someone prepare a bed and the needed supplies when we get there. Have someone inform his siblings where to go. Now lead me to the Healing chambers." With that he carried the Edhel out of the room and down the halls, following after the obedient servant.

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He retuned to consciousness with a quiet cry of intense agony. His awareness came back to him all at once and his eyes regained focus. A hand was in his own and he gripped it as tight as he could, not caring whether or not he caused harm to the person it belonged to. All that mattered was the fact that he felt so weak and there was so much pain. _My child!_ his mind cried. _Is he all right? What has happened to my child?!_

" Legolas?" a female's voice broke through the pain. " _Muindor-tithen_, answer me. It's is all right, little Leaf! We are here for you!"

" G-Gol-" he was assaulted by another bout of pain. His took a deep breath and letting it out slowly as he had been taught before. His eyes felt so tired! He wanted to return to his sleep, but knew that the pain wouldn't let him. _I cannot lose myself to oblivion, not when my child needs me!_

" He's too weak." Legolas heard Mithfenor. " The pregnancy had caused him problems with keeping down food since the second month. His body has lost much of its endurance, his tires too easily. I am an Elf from Lórien and know very little of such things concerning male begetting, that is why I sent for Lord Elessar. Perhaps you two will know more seeing as it runs in your own blood as well?"

" The birth will take hours, for a canal shall be formed much like that of a female," Glosshen told them. " But he very weak so it will take much longer than expected."

" Legolas," Goldhînen stroked her brother's sweat-streaked locks as his hand reached out to clench itself within her light auburn tresses as he'd done as a child. He would wrap his fingers within her hair whenever he was worried or frightened, seeking her out for comfort since their mother was dead. " You must prevail brother. Your child is in need of you!"

" Would it not be safer to cut out the child?" Aragorn inquired. " This birth will surely take away what little resistance he has left!"

" No, such things will only cause problems for the child, especially since it is early," Mithfenor told him. " _Edhil-hyn_ are usually safe when born on or after their day of conception for it is when they have come a full year of age. To be born before then shows that something is wrong, which would be Lord Legolas' weak constitution and lack of resistance. The child cannot be cut out for it gains its full spirit by passing 'through' its birth parent's body into the world, taking strength from the parent's own _fëar_. Being born early only increases the need for such to be done. He must go through with this."

Legolas twisted his head to the side, acceptance in his eyes. " A-and I-I-I w-will," he spoke softly, but with resolve. " My ch-child-d wi-will live!"

" _Amin hiraetha, Ernil-nin_," Mithfenor apologized. " We can give you nothing for the pain, it could harm the child." Legolas turned glazed eyes onto him, giving a short nod that he had heard and understood. It was then that he let out another gasp of pain before biting into his bottom lip.

" Don't hold it in," Aragorn told him. " You'll only make it hurt more."

" He is right," Glosshen kneeled by his brother's side. " You must take breaths and let them out in huffs, do not try to fight the pain, let it pass through you. It will only become worse for you." The laboring Elf decided to give in, a loud, piercing cry breaking through and echoing around the room.

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" _Adar_!"

He gave a warm smile as he watched the young Elf jumped agilely from the tree. " We have returned!" He bowed respectfully, but his gray eyes were filled with happiness.

" Andúnel," he pulled his son up and gave him a loving embrace. " I see you found your trip to your _Ata'da_ quite enjoyable?"

" Yes father," he agreed. " Grandfather wished for us to return home as soon as possible though. I believe it was the black coal around his favorite wine glasses that finally proved our need to go home."

" Andu!" he cried out. " Oh I am quite pleased that he did not ship you to the dungeons for a week!" He then looked about. " Now where is Amúntel?"

" He is remained behind with the patrol," his son explained. " I went on ahead as a scout and seeing as there was no danger, I decided to be the first here." The blonde Elf smiled as he looked his son over. His long, wavy hair was pulled back into a low ponytail while the few braids he wore hung down against his cheeks, most partially unraveled. Legolas would only guess at how he could have gotten such hair. It was silky and shiny, yet a bright auburn color with golden streaks, much like the color of the sky at sunset or sunrise. It reminded him of his mother's hair at times. His silvery grey eyes often shined when the light struck them, appearing as pale stars to his father. It was where he had gotten his name.

" There they are now!" The Lord of Eryn Gael stared out at the approaching company and smiled at the sight of a particular elf near the front of the line. The Edhel in question was speaking quite excitedly to the elder guard next to him.

He is trying to impress Ithinor again, he smiled.

The Elf finally turn towards him and immediately leapt from the back of his horse and rushed forward. Before he knew it, he was trapped within a warm embrace that he had missed the past year. " _Mae govannen, Ada_!" As always, the twins gave him fierce welcomes whenever they rejoined after being parted. His sons, both happy and free-spirited, were very affectionate towards him and he cherished that, for the love of his children meant the most to him.

" To you as well, _ion-nin_," Legolas replied. " I swear, you and your brother do enjoy to give hugs, don't you? It must be from being around Goldhînen and her lot for so long."

" Or it could perhaps be due to the fact that you yourself would hug _us_ whenever you had the opportunity," Andúnel countered. " I could also remember as children-"

" Hush now," Legolas told him. " Come, you will bathe, for you surely need it, and then we have a well set lunch ready for all of you."

" Great!" Amúntel beamed. " Andúnel thought it was funny to pour water on my _lembas_ to 'fatten' it up for me this morning."

His mirror image only shrugged. " You seemed rather thin, you haven't been eating as much lately. Actually, you seemed rather 'distracted' during the entire journey." A cough exited his son's throat as he glanced momentarily towards the raven-haired Elf he had spoke with for much of their trip home. The dark-haired captain of the guard was the age of their Uncle, Glosshen, four hundred years their father's senior, but that meant very little to Amúntel after knowing him all his life. Ithinor noticed his gaze and gave him a smile, nodding to him before taking his horse and that of the twins' to the stables.

" 'Tis only because you show too much patience in going after what you want, brother," he replied. " I prefer to not waste my life merely because we _Edhil_ are 'immortal'."

" Immortality only goes so far," Legolas spoke. " Do not believe you have as much time as we often believe. We may have more time than other races, but that also gives us time to cherish what we have."

" See?" Amúntel smirked at his brother, believing he was in the right.

" But…" Legolas continued with a small grin, " that does not mean that you should rush either. Love, and all things concerned with it, comes with time. It may come fast and abrupt, or even take years to develop, but it all comes down to Time and how the Valar wish it to proceed."

" So we were both right," Andúnel figured.

" Aye," the blond nodded. " But you must follow your hearts. Love is also at times fleeting." He then cast a curious gaze towards his elder son. " But who would it mean when Amun speaks of your own 'want' of something?"

Amúntel snickered as a slight flush crept over his twin's cheeks. " He has a thing for a certain blonde we met within Ata'da's realm," he spoke conspiratorially.

" Quiet!" the older of the two warned him.

" Is there something the matter?" their father inquired. " Is there something wrong with your father knowing who your heart has sought to take interest in?"

Andúnel gave a short shake of his head. Their father had always been honest and open with them, never wanting things to come between them . They in turn had always been open with him as well. They loved how their father was very much their authority figure when it was called for and yet also their friend and confidant. He kept them on the right path while never being too overbearing or unfair, while also wise and informative.

" It is just…" he didn't know how to say it.

" Hold on," Legolas stalled him as they opened the door to his study and then went it, the blonde shutting it behind them. " Now you may speak without others hearing our conversation. You do not have to feel embarrassed. Amúntel will not speak out." Blue eyes glanced assertively towards their younger offspring.

" Aye, Ada," he nodded in consent, sighing dramatically.

" Well…" Andúnel sighed. " It's…well…It's just that he's so noble and lives so far away in Imladris. And he's practically the oldest Edhel left on Arda, save Cirdan!"

Their father was silent for a moment, thinking of the what his son could mean. All of the Edhil that had survived the First and Second Ages who dwelled in Rivendell had left for the Undying Lands. That was, all except… Bright blue eyes widened. " You mean you fallen for the Balrog Slayer?" Legolas guessed and knew he was correct from the blush deepening on his son's cheeks. " But Glorfindel is quite a catch! Why do you feel so apprehensive at being attracted to him. I admit that I myself had a short-lived crush on him when I was an Elfling."

" You did?" the twin's spoke in unison.

" Aye," Legolas nodded. " Only, as I said, it was short lived. My attention was drawn elsewhere after he kindly turned me down."

" He turned you down?!" They were even more shocked. How could anyone REJECT _their_ father?!

" I was only thirty years with a childhood infatuation on my first visit to Imladris," he told them. " I couldn't believe that I had finally met the legendary hero of all my favorite bedtime tales. But that was nearly eight hundred years ago."

" But he is much older now," Andúnel's spirits were dampened. " He would surely think of me as nothing more than a babe!"

" Calm, ion nin," the blonde soothed his child. " Believe me, Glorfindel may indeed be aged, but that only shows the lonely life he has lived. He has spent all of the millennia since his return from Mandos' Halls watching over the family of Elrond and Imladris. Maybe now is the best time for you to relieve him of his loneliness."

" Adar!" his son was blushing at his suggestive words.

" Believe my words," he told him. " Glorfindel is not as unattainable as you fear. Do not think so little of yourself, heir to Eryn Gael." He had thought of that long ago. He knew not how long he would live with the continuous attacks on Ithilien, so he made sure that both his children were recognized as the conjoined heirs, working together as co-leaders of their realm should anything befall him. He would fight to live, but he would not have his people or his children left uncared. They would have been taken in by his most trusted advisor, Tauron, and his family, raised well until their time to take rule of Eryn Gael.

" Is it quite odd that we have been speaking of love and life when we bring a message of such importance," Andúnel decided quickly to change the subject.

" Oh yes!" Amúntel remembered. " We were caught by a messenger from Uncle Elessar. He has requested our presence within a month's time to attend the wedding of his youngest daughter, Mirien, to a newly appointed Lord of Gondor and Ithilien, Paladin, son of Boromir."

" He is indeed of good man, much like his father and grandfather before him," Legolas smiled. " She was quiet smitten with him when she was younger and he very fond in return, I almost expected this to come sooner. We shall be there, 'twill be good to see Aragorn and Arwen once more."

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**Translations:**

**Mellonamin - my friend**

**Tuile - Spring**

**Edhel/Edhil - Elf (sing)/Elves (pl)**

**Yávie - Autumn**

**Muindor-tithen - little brother**

**Edhil hyn - Elven children (hope we got that right)**

**Fëar - spirit**

**Amin hiraetha, Ernil-nin - I am sorry, my Prince**

**Adar/Ada- Father/Dad, Daddy**

**Ata'da - Grandfather**

**Mae govannen, Ada - Well met, Dad**

**Ion-nin - my son**

**Andúnel - Starry sunset (rough translation)**

**Amúntel - Starry sunrise (rough translation)**

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**JC: See? 'Lass has kids now!**

**Kathrine: We're going to try and finish typing up the story as soon as possible, but you'll have quite a few chapters to keep you occupied until then.**

**JC: Just drop us a review and tell us what you think.**

**Kathrine: We'll be back in a few days with the next chapter.**

**JC: Hopefully with this out of our system we can finish the next chapter to BTS or SCB.**

**Kathrine: We can always hope.**

**JC: Oh, and if you're wondering why we use a lot of the same names in out stories…we spend a LOT of time just coming up with them so we 'recycle' the ones we like best. Until next time!**


	2. Chapter 2

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Kathrine: Another Chapter!

JC: One of our reviewers said they didn't want to wait four-five days. So we'll post this one early.

Kathrine: We actually started to post this last night, but AFFNet and FFNet wouldn't let us on for some reason.

JC: So here it is today! And the story is about done, just a little more to go, so don't worry about too long of a wait on it.

Kathrine: This chapter is sad and yet it also brings in some more of the main players in this game.

JC: We'll see how you like this.

Kathrine: If you notice, we 'imply' quite a few of our well-liked Legolas-pairings in this story. Including one which will show up as a main point a the end of this chapter.

Disclaimer: We do not 'own' Lord of the Rings, nor its characters. But do not expect to receive them back in mint condition.

Warnings: Slightly AU, Slash, Angst, Implied pairings, OCs (Legolas' sons)

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Weight of the Burden

By JC and Jennifer

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Chapter 2

They were let into the Outer Gate and the guards bowed respectfully to the lords of Eryn Gael. Legolas gave them a short bow of the head in return, his sons mimicking his movement. The Men stared in awe of them for a short moment, still not used to seeing the Firstborn that lived so close to them. The small party past them and others, aware of the eyes landing on them and following their steps. It was always as this when they came to Gondor, but at least it was not as shocking as when they left to Rohan for the wedding of King Éomer.

They followed the familiar streets to the halls of the king, stopping at the gate to be removed of their horses and belongings and then announced in the great hall. They were allowed entry and greeted by the King himself, as they always had been on formal meetings. Elessar was showing his age, his hair, on both his head and face, streaked with gray and his eyes crinkled in the corners with the lines of someone who laughed often.

Arwen still appeared youthful, though not as unreachable. She looked a lovely maiden of her late thirties rather than an eternal one right out of her majority. But they were happy, as they had always been in one another's presence. Their lives were fulfilled with the love of their children and grandchildren, and neither regretted their decisions of the past. Legolas felt a familiar ache in his chest at the sight of them. They had something he himself would never have.

" It is good to see you again, my friend," Aragorn gave him a warm warrior's welcome, grasping his arm and placing his hand on the other's shoulder. " You have been absent from these halls for too long. I have missed you."

" And I have missed you," he conceded, giving him a gentle smile. " As my sons have also missed their 'Uncle' Aragorn."

" They visited before they left for Eryn Lasgalen last summer," he replied. " They merely feel disappointed they could not leave trouble as they usually do in their wake."

" That is quite untrue," Amúntel denied. " We just wanted more time to 'spend' with you, Spirit Father."

" Well we hope you shall stay longer than merely for the wedding," Arwen offered. " It would be nice to catch up with over the goings of Eryn Gael and yourselves. It has been quite some time since you have brought yourself rather than sent a ambassador, _gwanur_."

" To rule is to have less time than you would like," Legolas told him. " But we shall stay for a short time, there are no urgent needs that must be seen to."

" Splendid," she did seem happy about this. " It is wonderful to finally have my brothers together after so long."

" What?" Legolas' eyes widened, but he quickly caught himself to hide his astonishment. She couldn't very well mean…

" Mae govannen, _Laiqualasse_."

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No, the blonde felt is heart stop. He forced himself to remain calm when he truly felt as if he would either faint or flee. He turned around and found himself the attention of familiar silver grey eyes. Steeling himself, Legolas bowed. " 'Tis been a long time Elladan, Elrohir," he spoke. " I am glad to see you both are well."

Andúnel and Amúntel shared each other's confusion. What was wrong with their father? The only time he acted so stiffly and formally was during talks with foreign delegates. To see him act so cool and aloof towards two who were said to be such friends was odd. The twins had heard of the Sons of Elrond, twins like themselves. Never before had they met them, but they knew of how they came with the Dunédain to help with the Great War of the Ring and of how they had been comrades of their father's since he was a young Elfling. Why would he be so cold to them?

They didn't know that the other pair felt the same as they did. Why did Legolas behave so towards them? What had they done to warrant such treatment? Had time truly caused such a rift between them? " You look well yourself," Elrohir spoke as warmly as his brother had before. " Perhaps this time will allow us to spend time going over the last century. We have much to catch up on."

" Perhaps," Legolas replied. " But not right now, I am afraid. It is becoming late and my company should prepare for evening meal." He then bowed to Aragorn and Arwen before bowing again to the twins and leaving. " Come, we must take leave for now." The three lords and the six guards accompanying them bowed to him and followed him out of the hall.

" We'll see you tonight," Andúnel told their Spirit Father.

" See you then," Amúntel smiled before both followed after their father, hoping to discover why he reacted as such. After they were gone Arwen gave him brothers an apologetic stare.

" _Amin hiraetha_," she said. " I know not why he reacted that way. I thought that he would be happy to see you again after so long. You've not been within the same vicinity since after OUR wedding."

" 'Tis all right, _gwathel_," he assured her. " Mayhap the shock was a bit too much for him."

" Mayhap," Aragorn agreed, but his mind was already thinking otherwise. It had been something that he had thought of for nearly over one hundred years. It was something that he always came back, a question he had always wished to ask. _Perhaps now he will finally let go,_ he thought. _If what I believe is correct, then this must surely be the will of the Valar._

" _Melamin_," Arwen kissed his cheek. " We too should prepare for tonight's meal. With Mirien's wedding in two days we shall have to spend much time towards our guests and finishing preparations. We shall need our strength."

" Yes indeed," he smiled at her and the small jest. " We should go. We shall see you in the dinning hall."

" Aye," Elladan nodded to him. " We'll be there." The twins took their leave, going to their own adjacent chambers to prepare. They had much to think on.

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It was there again, that ache in his chest that caused his breath to hitch and his hands to shake. It had never felt like this before. Usually it would come and fade within a few minutes of arrival, only causing him fatigue, but this was different. It _hurt_. It had been apparent since his escape to his rooms, but now even an hour and a half later it still showed no sign of abating. _Why must it come upon me now?_ he thought with a tone of bitterness. _Is the other torment not enough?_

The thought led to others which only caused the pain to increase. He gritted his teeth before taking in deep breaths to calm himself. _No,_ he told himself. _I will not submit to this. I will NOT give in._ The more he let the words flow through his mind, the less pain he felt. After a few minutes of fighting it, the ache was completely gone, leaving him feeling very tired. All he wanted now was to rest peacefully. Not to sleep, but to calm his mind and heart somewhere tranquil and soothing.

His door was opened without knocking and he knew the only two who would do such a thing. " It is time to go _Adar_," Amúntel poked his head inside. " Are you ready?"

" Nay," he shook his head. " I feel quite fatigued. I do not believe I shall be able to make an appearance."

The door was opened fully so that both his sons could step inside. " Are you all right?" his younger son asked, concern lining his voice.

" Is something wrong?" Andúnel spoke his own worries.

" It is merely the fatigue that overcomes me at times," he told them. " It just seems more potent that usual. 'Tis all right. I just need to rest. Maybe sit in the gardens for some time."

" We shall inform the king," his eldest told him. " I do not believe he will feel put out."

" Aragorn will understand," he stated. " Tell him I send my regrets."

" Aye," he sons nodded. " We will." They gave him brief embraces before letting themselves out so they would not be late and hold up the meal.

Legolas smiled in pride. He loved to watch how grown and strong his sons had become, even if they acted quite childish at times. They were still very young though, only five years past their majority. They could act less than their age at times. It showed that they still treasured their youth. _It must run in the family,_ he thought. _They are still young and free…something that should always be cherished._

He quickly shook the melancholy thoughts away. He would not let them overtake him again. He stood and let out a saddened sigh. He needed to lose himself, even if only for a short while. _I'll go to the gardens,_ he decided. _Even if they are nothing like the ones of Rivendell or home, they still have the appealing serenity I seek._

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Many were confused that the Lord of Eryn Gael did not attend dinner that night. His sons merely stated that he felt more tired than he first believed and wished to rest so that he would be more fit for the following day. Aragorn himself seemed pensive at their words, as if he was thinking of something of great importance, though few noticed. But dinner went on without the Golden Prince of Eryn Gael and not much time was spent dwelling on it. For most that is.

His sons were concerned, but remained as polite and courteous as he had taught them to be. They were not in the land of their home, nor the realm of their Grandfather. They acted as was proper for those of nobility and status at a dinner with the king. The people who knew them well were always taken by their swift change from playfully friendly to strict representatives of their people. But given the chance, the transformation would occur in reverse just as quickly.

" Andúnel?" the eldest twin turned his head to the one who had spoke to him from across the table. Elladan gave him a smile. " I am truly glad that my brother and I finally get to meet you both. Unfortunately, we have never had the pleasure of seeing your realm, Eryn Gael."

" It is quite beautiful this time of year, just as summer turns to fall and the leaves are tipped with the first gold of change," he told him. " Many years were spent to transform it from its former shadow."

" I know," the raven-haired elf nodded. " It shows how truly committed your people are to your home."

"_ Hannon lle_," he tilted his head in appreciation. " We've spent practically our entire lives there and have become more than attached to it."

" I would believe so," he smiled again. " I would think no less of my home, Imladris."

" What is Rivendell like?" Amúntel asked him, joining their conversation. Elladan looked to his brother, giving him a chance to enter into it as well.

" It still holds the same mysterious beauty that we have always held it with," he explained. " The Bruinen flows around it, and its towers are white and silver, built around and within nature, rather than cutting down the trees. The vale is also beautiful at this time of year. But our opinion is biased after three thousand years."

" It is so interesting how different the Elven realms are," Amúntel spoke. " Our grandfather's realm is within a mountain, while also being outside within the trees. Our own realm was built into the nature around it. You say Imladris is within a vale and fashioned of white and silver stone as well and the trees. We have heard that Lothlórien was built in large talons around the great _mallyrn_ trees and quite stunning during every season for it never snowed within. They are so diverse."

" Yes, but that only makes them more stunning, do you not agree?" Elladan asked. " To be so different yet still alluring. It shows the diversity of our cultures and yet how well they blend as well."

" Much like the stone beauty of Minas Tirith," Andúnel replied. " Aye, lord Elessar? The differences do blend together to create such beauty."

" Indeed," Aragorn smiled. The four Elves return to their conversation, each speaking to others outside of it, but always eventually returning throughout the night. It was quite peculiar. They had not even met each other before then, and yet they already were close, like friends and comrades that had known each other for centuries. There was something between them that the king could not yet set, something that he was not yet sure of.

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He sat within the confines of the private sector of the garden, open only to family and close friends of the king. It was beautiful, refashioned by Arwen herself to make her feel more at home. There were flowers sent by her grandmother, Galadriel, ones that were said to be only able to grow within the borders of 'Lórien. But they did grow, and quite beautifully. She had also taken seeds from plants within Imladris and let them grow freely. It was almost like a small self-grown forest.

Legolas could not help but feel safe and calm there. It had always been the one spot in all of Minas Tirith that he felt most at home when he visited. Often at times he would venture there in the dead of night merely to sit and stare up at the stars that shined brightly from that vantage point. His spirit and mind felt most relieved at the peace it brought him. _I almost feel as if I am home in _**Naneth's**_ garden,_ he thought. _Perhaps I should set a trip to return home to Eryn Lasgalen later before the winter. It will be too late to leave if I wait any longer._

He knew it was time to return to his rooms. Dinner was most probably finished and his sons would be looking for him soon. They worried over him too often and he knew they would become over protective should he not be there. _'Tis strange how they worry more over me than I do them,_ he thought with a smile. _They think themselves my knights, protecting me from everything._ He then sensed the presence behind him. He turned his head and steeled himself once more. It was the twins.

" You must have been thinking of something precious indeed to have such a content look upon your face," Elrohir stated.

" Yes, I was," he agreed. " I was thinking of my sons."

" They are very strong and well raised," Elladan praised. " You are most definitely their father. It could never be said otherwise."

" And no one could have taught them better," Elrohir put in. " They do you great justice, _mellonamin_."

" Hannon lle," he thanked them for their kind words. " I must go." He stood and began walking away from them, but was stopped by the soft spoke words than came next.

" Please, Laiqualasse," Elrohir called to him. " Do not go. Could you at least tell us what we have done wrong, seeing as you are abhorred by being in our presence?"

Legolas halted in his tracks. He had never meant lead them into believing he hated them in any way. " I do not abhor your presence," he spoke. " You have been my friends, comrades, for nearly all of my life; nothing can change that."

" Then why do act like this towards us?" Elladan asked, his words filled with how hurt he felt. " What have we done?"

" Nothing," he still had not turned around. " It is nothing that you have done. Please, believe that. There is just something I must deal with, on my own. 'Tis not your fault."

" Then why do you run from us?" the elder son of Elrond all but demanded.

" Because I must," the golden-haired prince replied before leaving as quickly as he could without running away.

" What is wrong with him?" Elladan wondered.

" There is a sadness about him," Elrohir stated. " It is all about his aura, it is just as Arwen said. He is running from us, _muindor_, but I know he needs us."

" And we shall be there for him," he determined. " Even we have to force our concern down his stubborn throat."

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The wedding had gone off well, Mirien had been as beautiful as her mother on her parent's day of union, and everyone had behaved themselves. _Paladin_ was indeed an honorable Lord, who took well after his father and grandfather, Faramir, who had passed in the winter twenty years before. The noble man proved himself to be worthy of his bride and quite devoted to her and his duty. Mirien herself was still as taken with her newly pronounced husband as she had been as a young teen with a crush.

Legolas stayed in the ballroom but in the background, listening to the joy and merry-making. The music was lively and the bride and groom owned the stage. They danced about the floor happily, taking in their time together, ready to start the rest of their lives as one. Legolas was happy for them. He believed it a treasure to know love and be happy in your sharing of it with your mate. It was then that he felt that the ache had returned.

It was putting pressure against his lungs, almost as if trying to cut off his air. It wasn't strong now, but he knew that it would be. _I will not ruin this night for them,_ he swore, thinking of the couple on the dance floor. _I will not cause concern that might take attention away from them this night._

He made his way out of the ballroom, hoping that he would not be missed, though knowing his disappearance would be noted. He didn't care if he could rid himself of the pain in his chest. He gave one last look back and smiled at the sight of his sons. Amúntel was once again speaking with Ithinor, who was one of the guard to accompany them to Minas Tirith, while Andúnel was with Elladan and Elrohir, the look on his face showing excitement due to whatever they were conversing about. A pair of silvery grey eyes looked his way and he knew he had to get out.

He slipped down the halls with out incident or detection, his movement silent and graceful as always, even with his ailment. He entered his chambers and swiftly removed both his tunic and his undershirt in hopes of relieving the pressure in his chest. It did very little. He lied back on his bed and clutched a hand over his heart. _I will not submit to this,_ he continued with his mantra that had always sought during his 'spells'. _I will not give in. I won't give in. I will not submit._ It took longer for the pain to subside and before he had even realized it, Legolas has drifted off into a restless sleep.

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Andúnel walked through the palace's great halls early the next morning. He did not know why he was so awake when he had gone to sleep late the other night. He had spent so much of his time between his twin and the twins of Imladris, that he had lost track of the time. The celebration had dwindled to barely a tavern full before he had finally realized the need to turn in. Amúntel was still sleeping.

He turned the corner and barely stopped himself from walking into the people before him. " I'm sorry, I was not truly paying attention," he apologized.

" That's all right," Elladan told him. " We were quite occupied ourselves. Glorfindel had just gotten in late last night, missing the entire wedding."

The young Elf then saw who stood behind the other twin. The golden-haired Edhel that he felt things towards that he knew were not proper. He bowed politely, more to hide the blush of his cheeks at almost running into the object of his desire. " 'Tis good to see you again, my lord," he spoke.

" We've barely been parted for a few short months," Glorfindel pointed out. " And if I remember we almost 'bumped' into each other that time as well."

" Aye, I remember," Andúnel recalled. " Maybe it means something." He meant it as a joke, which the other two took lightly, while he himself felt a slight flush to his cheeks.

" Maybe," Glorfindel gave a small chuckle.

" I am sorry, but I must be going," he excused him diplomatically. " I hope to see you later today." He left them then, the feeling of embarrassment deepening. _Andúnel Legolasion, _he thought, berating himself. _You are a coward._

Elladan and Glorfindel watched him leave. " He has not acted so 'shy' the entire three days I've know him," the raven-haired Edhel noted. " He was fine until he saw you." He cast a questioning glance to his former mentor and protector.

" I do not know what you are implying," the other shook his head.

" Only that he seemed rather 'awkward' around you," the other stated matter-of-factly. " Although, I have seen many _ellyth_ and _ellyn_ act like that around you."

" I hope you aren't saying what I believe you are," Glorfindel continued on his way down the hall. " He's just past his majority. He must think I am as old as Arda itself."

" Well…" Elladan was about to comment, but stopped himself at the warning look in the other's eyes. " Look at it this way, some do find older attractive."

" Not that older," Glorfindel shook his head. Elladan wanted to sigh dramatically. The blonde was very stubborn. He could not think of how many different potential mates, both female and male, that had been pushed before the Balrog Slayer during Elladan's life. But every time he turned the person down, politely, but assertively enough that most didn't try a second time.

" Then I hope that he truly feels nothing like that for you," Elladan spoke seriously. " I would hate for you to hurt him needlessly because of a mere age difference."

" It is more than an age difference," Glorfindel pointed out. " And you know I would not try to truly harm the boy. Why do you sound so defensive of him?"

" He…" the son of Elrond did not know how to explain it. " I just wish to keep him from harm, that is all. He's very much like his father, both of them are." Glorfindel didn't delve into it, though he did have questions left open by the younger Elf's words.

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He stood outside the doors to his friend's room, unsure whether or not he should enter. Never before had they been concerned with knocking upon each other's doors, but so much time had past and so many things had changed. The friend he had once known and depended on was not the same person he had once been, though he tried to so hard to make t seem otherwise. So instead he knocked politely on the door. At first he received no answer and believed the blonde might not be there, but then he heard the soft voice bidding him entrance.

He slowly opened the door and then let himself in, keeping by the doorway, rather than going directly into the room. " Greetin-" Legolas came about the corner, but stopped when he realized who it was.

" Estel?" he seemed somewhat confused. " What has brought you here when this is usually the time you spend with your family?"

" I worry for you my friend," the dark-haired Man spoke. " You left the banquet early."

" I just felt fatigued," he told him. " You know I have been prone to tiredness since the twins were born."

" Aye, but usually not so frequently," he pointed out. " It usually happens randomly and far between. This has been twice in three days and they seem to be getting worse. You look so drained." He was commenting on the slight rings beneath the golden-haired Elf's eyes and the somber look in their normally bright blue depths. For over a century the Prince had seem sad in a way, his eyes always looking off in a way that was reminiscent of memories. He knew it dealt with the love the blonde had given up.

" I am quite fine," he said reassuringly. " You do not have to worry so for me, I am not an invalid or some maiden. I know my limits."

" You know your limits, but prefer to ignore them to the point of exhaustion," the King countered. " I have known you since I was a child, do not think you can hide such things from me. Remember all of the trouble we got into together?"

Legolas gave a warm smile at the different images that conjured. " I do," he admitted. " We were so terrible. If we were not near death in Imladris, we were near death in Mirkwood. Our fathers were always ready to send us home with the other."

" And it was only worse if Elladan and Elrohir were with us," he chuckled. Legolas demeanor instantly changed from slowly relaxing to near stiff. Aragorn knew that he had found the main point of his friend's trouble. " It is one of them isn't it? That is why you always declined to come to the births of my children, for they would be there? And why you have never returned to Rivendell? Legolas, you cannot hurt yourself so."

" You do not know what you are speaking of," the blonde frowned. " You should return to your family, Aragorn."

" Mellonamin," he tried again. " I only wish to help you. I cannot bare to see you like this any longer."

" I can deal with my own troubles, Elessar." Estel knew he had hit a sore point at the use of his formal name. He let out a deep sigh, running a hand through his greying hair. Legolas saw the near defeated look in his comrade's eyes. There was more to it. " What is it, Estel? What truly is your reason for coming to me?"

" The fact that you have ever been alone," he spoke. " I have known you for more than one hundred and fifty years and never have you taken a mate or shown any interest in even finding a passing lover…except that once. You told me you loved him and that you would keep him free because of that love. Legolas…I know that my time will come eventually, and sooner now with my age. I swore to you that I would always be there for you and yet I will die. And I would regret almost everything I have accomplished if I die knowing that you still live a lonely life, forever lost to the one who holds you heart, though he does not know. You are not to be alone, _meldir_."

Legolas eyes were wide at this honest declaration from his dear friend. He knew not what to say. He had not known that throughout all those years, Aragorn held fears over his own happiness like this. _He is too good a friend for me to have,_ he thought.

" My children are all married and happy," he continued. " My wife loves me unconditionally and my people are content. It seems the only one I truly have left to worry over is you. And I would not wish to worry over you like this during my afterlife."

" Estel…" he wanted to say something, anything to calm the other's fears.

" You know, 'Lass," he whispered, using the pet name he had not uttered since he had been a child. " If I had not loved Arwen so, and times had been different…I would have fought for your heart, even against an invisible opponent who deserved it not. Your twins would be mine and perhaps we could have lived a happy life together."

Feeling wetness in his eyes, Legolas blinked before taking a large strong hand, callused and somewhat wrinkled with time, and held it in both of his own. " No," he shook his head. Aragorn's eyes seemed more saddened by this. " We would have been happy, _meldir nin_, very happy. For I would have happily given it to you." He then gave the man a light kiss on the cheek. " Had it been but another time."

Aragorn lifted the hands that held his own to his lips and kissed them. " I must go," he let go and stood. " But do not shut yourself away like this. If that is the one wish I beg of you before I die, let me know that you are happy and fulfilled with someone that would care for you as I would have…in another time." He leaned down to give a kiss to the golden head of hair and then left, returning to his family for morning meal. He didn't see the tears trickle down the pale porcelain cheeks of the one he left behind, but knew they were there, falling like the ones within his own heart.

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Translations :

Gwanur - Sworn brother

Laiqualasse - (old Sindarin) Greenleaf

Amin hiraetha - I am sorry

Gwathel - Sister

Melamin - My love

Adar - Father

Hannon lle - Thank you

Naneth - Mother

Mellonamin - My friend

Muindor - brother

Ellyth/Ellyn - (pl) Elf-maiden/Elf male

Meldir - Dear one

Meldir nin - My dear one

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JC: Okay, it's guessing time! Which Twin is Legolas in love with? Pick a pairing, any pairing between them.

Kathrine: And Boromir is Faramir's son, of course. But where does HIS son, Paladin, get his name? If you can guess BOTH of these questions right, we'll send you a little spoiler for later in the story.

JC: The Aragorn/Legolas is a 'hint' for another story we might be doing. We just couldn't leave it out.

Kathrine: If anyone wants to take their hand at drawing Andúnel and Amúntel we'd be VERY Grateful. We couldn't draw to save the planet from exploding. Very bad art students here.

JC: Leave a review with your comments or answers to questions above and you're email address incase you win so we can email you.

Kathrine: Winners will be given until next chapter because that's when it will be revealed. If you want to give a go at more than one guess, just send us an email.

JC: Okay, until later! Well…a few days anyway.


	3. Chapter 3

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JC: Wow! Next day update!

Kathrine: We got a wonderful, flattering review from the wonderful Eressë and couldn't help but want to post this sooner.

JC: Unfortunately, or maybe not so unfortunate, you won't found out who the father is until next chapter. We didn't mean for it to happen, but that's how the chapters came out.

Kathrine: You get another chance to guess!

JC: Yeah, so if anyone wants to change their answers or answer a question they over-looked, feel free!

Kathrine: There will be SOME action in this chapter, not a lot, but some none-the-less.

Disclaimer: We do not own LOTR in anyway, unless you count the books, DVDs, and a Legolas poster.

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Warnings: Slash, Slightly AU, Violence, Ignorant Lords

**__**

Weight of the Burden

By Jennifer and JC

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Chapter 3

A week he had thought over the words of his friend, his confidant. He did not know if such a decision would ever be easy for him to make, for it would essentially and undoubtedly change his life and those of the ones he cared for, as well as most likely ruin the most precious bond he had…the one with his sons. But he also knew that he could not lie anymore, the ache had worsened and he could not deal with this alone.

His sons had gained a close bond of their own with the twin sons of Elrond in the short time they had known them, the four spending much time together. Although, Amúntel was always attentive when it came to Ithinor, never forgetting about him for too long. He was proud of how his son was able to handle his duty as a representative of Eryn Gael, spend time with others for fun, and still keep private time for the object of his heart…even if Ithinor didn't know it yet.

Andúnel was having problems of his own, with the Balrog Slayer of Gondolin in their mists. Whenever Glorfindel entered the room, the auburn-haired Edhel would blush slightly, but then manage to control himself. He became quiet, not being able to speak with his crush near. He also took to not-so secretively following Glorfindel with his eyes. Legolas knew that the other blonde was not blind; he most certainly could tell something was going on.

His sons' behavior towards love was one curiosity he had yet to fill himself on. To him, they were open, loving, and trusting, knowing they would always receive the same in return. But to others they would act differently. Andúnel was the more adventurous of the two, always ready for a challenge, while at the same time being more thoughtful and shy towards relationships with others. Amúntel was more strategic, but always friendly and open to people, though he did have a temper. And if he wanted something, he went for it in a roundabout way that let him know if it was worth it or he should not even bother.

Their personalities blended in contradiction, but whenever together they were complete, one whole. They felt no physical love, but their spiritual bond was so strong that they would read each other's thoughts and emotions easily. Legolas expected no less from them. It was himself that he felt was lacking. And with the push of his friend he hoped that it would change.

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" Come we must ride!" Amúntel urged his brother. " I am so bored!"

" Then go enjoy the day with Ithinor," his brother suggested.

His twin sighed, " He is busy with guard, showing techniques to the novice warriors, I had planned to spend the morning with him."

Andúnel raised an elegant brow identical to his own. " So I am your second choice?"

" Only because I had planned on spending the afternoon with you instead of morning," he told him. " I thought you would be too busy watching Glorfindel." He was prepared for the harsh punch to his arm and didn't try to avoid it. He was used to getting struck like so when he said something that embarrassed his older brother in some way. He just brushed it off.

" Fine," Andúnel gave in. " We'll go riding, but you owe me because I'm assuaging your boredom. And I do intend to collect."

" Whatever," the other shrugged. " I know you, so I'm not worried." He didn't see the slight mischievous grin on his brother's face as they treaded down the halls to the door leading to the stables.

They entered the stables and notice a group of boys appearing past the reaching age of adulthood towards the back, all three staring into the farthest stall. Sharing a glance, the twins wondered what could be so interesting and inconspicuously listened as they set their horses for their ride. They noticed he quiet sound of whinnied cries coming from the stall and neither believed it to a good thing.

" Do it again!" one of the boys exclaimed quietly.

" But aren't your hurting it?" another asked.

" Of course not," the final one stated matter-of-factly. " It's just a wimpy colt, it don't feel nothing. Watch." A crack sounded and Amúntel halted his actions. It was the sound of a whip. Another cry came from the horse inside the stall. " See? It's all ready got a bum leg so it's not much use anyway." The brown-haired boy raised the whip again, but a heavy hand on the boy's wrist stopped it.

" I wouldn't do that if I were you," Amúntel warned. " You have no right to strike that animal, lest you wish for someone to strike _you_ the same way."

" Who do you think you are?" one of the boy's friends demanded haughtily. " We can do whatever we want with our property."

" He's an Elf," the other, more subdued boy realized. " He's one of the ones from Ithilien!"

" I don't care," the 'leader' wrenched his wrist from Amúntel's grasp. " That weak horse is my property. I can do what I want with it."

" You know that abuse of animals is illegal within Gondor," Andúnel stepped in. " The king would have you whipped for doing it."

" Twins!" the young man's eyes widened before smirking. He cut his eyes at them and laughed. " I know who you are! My father told me about you two. Bastard sons of the Elf whore, who runs Eryn Gael. I don't see how any of you could be-" The fist that connected with his face struck so fast and so hard that a loud cracking noise was heard throughout the stables. Andúnel had to grab his brother back before he did more harm.

" Gregor!" the one boy shouted while the other dropped his jaw in shock.

" How _DARE_ you say something like that about out father," the younger twin's voice was low, but as hard as steel.

" You shouldn't have hit him!" the young man shouted. " You'll be arrested for it! He's the son of the king's fourth advisor!"

" You insulted the Lord of Eryn Gael!" Amúntel boomed. " I should beat you within an inch of unconsciousness for that slight against our father's honor!"

" It's true!" the young 'Gregor' sputtered from the ground, his mouth bleeding from where he had bitten into his tongue and cheek. " My father said yours became pregnant! He's a freak! You don't even know who-"

This time Andúnel didn't stop his brother from lunging at him. He knew it was probably going to be put against them, but he didn't care. No one insulted his father…**no one**. He also knew that when angered, Amúntel was not a force that could be easily stopped until he released most of his rage. The second boy went forward to help his friend, but the elder twin immediately grabbed him. " Your friend started this," he warned. " He will deal with the consequences." He didn't see the third boy rush form the stables.

" He'll kill him!" the boy struggled.

" No he won't," Andúnel stated with authority. " But I would not bet on him being able to walk tomorrow."

Amúntel punched the other man across the face for the last time, and then held him down, pinning his body beneath him. " If you EVER say something like that about my father again I will…!" he didn't need to finish his words. The boy was barely awake, his face turning shades of black and blue while he had a cut above his eyes, a split lip, and was still bleeding from the mouth. Amúntel hoped that he had cracked a rib or two as well.

" Let them go." It was a voice he knew, speaking with hard authority.

He turned his head to see Elrohir standing in the doorway of the stables, eyes glaring holes into them. He sneered down at the battered body beneath him before letting go of him and standing, stepping away from the carnage he'd wrought. " What happened?" Elrohir all but demanded, his voice emotionless.

" They were beating the lame colt it that stall," he pointed to where the young horse was, curled up against the back of the stall, shivering. At seeing the actually damage done to the young creature, he wanted to beat the boy all the more. Its pale grey back was littered with angry red lines, some looking as if they were beginning to bleed.

" You should have come to me or the king," Elrohir started. " It is against the law, they know this. You should not have taken out your anger on him."

" That was not why I struck him!" the auburn-haired Elf snarled.

Andúnel still held the other and shoved him onto his knees. " Tell him," he ordered the boy. " Tell him the disgraceful lies you spout about our father!" Pulling his head back, his force the young man to stare straight into the older Elf's silver/grey eyes.

" Let him go," Elrohir ordered, his voice darker. " Elladan is waiting outside. You two will go with him and I will have someone come and get these two. We shall put this before the King and then the Council. Your father would be disappointed in you right now."

" We defended his honor!" Andúnel countered. " They called him-"

Elrohir silenced him with a wave of his hand. " It matters not," he told them. " You should not have attacked them. Legolas would say the same. As I said, this will be brought before the King."

Both Elves suddenly felt very chastised, even though they still believed their cause righteous. NO ONE spoke of their _Adar_ in such a way! Still, they both were cooled by the look of disappointment in Elrohir's eyes. They also knew that if he felt this way, then Elladan most certainly would as well. The prospect of the older twins being upset with them left both boys feeling depressed. Perhaps it wasn't as worth as they first believed.

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" I want them beaten and thrown in the dungeons!" The man was incensed, angered by what had been done to his son.

" You cannot deign punishment, Gredon," Elessar warned him, though his tone was not harsh, taking into count how he would feel if this had been done to his own son. " We do not even know what has transpired." He turned his gaze to the four young ones standing before him. " And we will find out, just as soon as Legolas arrives. His sons are under his jurisdiction. And if the Lord agrees, their actions shall go before our own Council for judgment for their act was committed in Gondor."

" That wretch has left my son bloodied with cracked ribs and his face so bruised his eyes are swollen shut!"

Amúntel kept his head bowed, his eyes set in a glare and his hands clenched. / _That son of Mordor deserved worse than that! / _ He spoke mentally to his brother.

/ _Stay calm_ / Andúnel told him. /_ Adar will most definitely not be pleased with us. Those boys were barely even one-fourth our age. /_

/_ But they have past their majority just as we have! /_ His twin showed no sign of calming down as the advisor, Gredon, continually on with his tirade. He was enraged by the fact that his son was beaten so badly, and by an Elf at that! Amúntel was beginning to think it was have been better if he could have beaten both father AND son. / _This man is younger than we are! Yet he acts as if he is our better and should push about like young babes. /_

/ _Calm down. /_ Andúnel's tone did help to keep his brother thinking clearly. But it did no good knowing that _this_ was the man that had raised that wretched urchin he had trampled over. Elladan watched from the back of the room, a mere spectator to the preliminary trial.

The door opened then, letting Legolas enter the room. His attention went to Aragorn first, his eyes questioning. Then he let them land on his sons, who bowed their heads even more at his interrogating stare. " What has happened, Lord Elessar?" he finally asked. " What transgressions have they performed."?

" Your 'children' attacked my son and his companions!" Gredon bellowed. " Your one, beat my son into unconsciousness while the other held his friend, Hilmer, backs! If Tresir had not found Lords Elrohir and Elladan I would be demanding charges against them of murder!"

" Gredon!" Aragorn's frustration was beginning to show. The advisor silenced himself, understanding that his lord was nearing his last thread. The King shook his head towards his long time friend. " We do not know the full trail of events. I thought waiting for you would be best. I would first ask Hilmer to give his side of events, seeing as it is claimed that he and Gregor are the victims of the act."

The blonde young man raised his head and gave a quick glare in the twins' direction. " We were training the new colt Gregor's mare gave birth to," he stated, trying to appear honest. " It has a lame leg and tends to be obstinate. Gregor was just teaching it some manners." A snort came from Amúntel, but glare by his father, Aragorn, and Elladan forced him to curb his temper. Hilmer almost smirked, but continued with his 'side' of the story.

" The horse was becoming hysterical," he went on. " The horses down from us were being quite irritating and it caused the colt to act out. Gregor was just about to give up it when _those_ two entered the stables. The one got angry at us, calling us barbarians and savages, saying that we didn't know how to train our horses properly. I was angry and said that we didn't have the power to just 'talk' to them, but they wouldn't stop. Gregor finally got upset and spouted that they needed to go back to their father and be treated some manners. That was when the one over there on the left _attacked_ him for no reason at all! I know it was him too! He's still got Gregor's blood on his knuckles!"

Amúntel was more than angry by now. The idiot didn't even try to make lies from the truth, but rather spouted full falsehoods from his mouth! It took everything that he and his brother could think of to keep himself from forgetting decorum once more to put this snake-tongued upstart in his place. He could feel slight pain from where his nails had dug deep enough into his palms to cut wounds. Legolas stared at his son, knowing that this was completely false. Yes Amúntel had a temper, but he would never beat someone so thoroughly over something so slight.

" Now I want to hear from you two," Aragorn turned to the twins.

" What else is there to hear?!" Gredon demanded. " You heard the truth from a young man of upstanding nobility with absolutely no reason to lie! It's obvious who is at fault here!"

" Of course, the boy has no reason to lie," Elessar agreed. " Unless it is he that has something to hide. Now I have heard the side of he and your son, now I must hear it from the sons of Legolas." It was obvious that the man was not pleased with this, but he remained quiet.

Andúnel gave his brother stare, telling him to remain silent. He was the more calm of the to and wasn't going to say something that would hurt their side of this. He had a tendency to do that. " We had planned on going riding this morning," he stated. " When we reached the stables we heard the three Men at the far back stall. There was crying from the horse inside the stall. At first we did nothing, until we saw that one with dark hair, found to be Gregor, was beating the horse with a whip. The horse's crying was beginning to upset the other horses, including our own."

" A whip if often used to train horses," Gredon butted in. " They cannot be faulted for breaking in a colt!"

" Silence!" It was enough for Aragorn. " If you speak out of turn once more I will have you removed from this hearing and confined to your chambers for the rest of the day."

" Yes milord," Gredon's position suddenly became submissive.

" 'Breaking in' would not constitute bleeding welts on the young horse's back," Amúntel finally spoke. " It was quivering at the back of the stall when I saw it. Its grey fur tainted brown from blood. Beating of animals is against the law of Gondor and I warned them of that. I will not lie and say I was not angered for I was, and I even said that he himself could be beaten like so if he would strike another that way. But that was not why I struck him. He slandered my family and the honor of my father. I will not apologize for I am not sorry. He deserved it and it just happened to be I that gave it to him rather than another."

" He insulted Lord Legolas?" Elessar remained regal and stoic, though he did not appreciate the thought of someone slighting Legolas. But it was impossible to end all prejudice and hate in Gondor, no matter how hard he tried. He saw the look in Legolas' eyes and knew that his friend was proud of his sons for defending him, yet also disappointed that they would let their anger take control of them so fully. " What was said?" he asked.

" We will not repeat what he said," Andúnel shook his head. " Those words will never leave our lips. Know that he insulted our father's honor, our heritage, and we ourselves. The words he used were too strong to be have been said in any other way. And we could not allow them to get away with it."

" If you will not say, then how do we even know anything was said at all?" Lord Gredon inquired. " My son lies in the healing wing and yet you will not even say what you 'allege' he has done to deserve such?"

" He called Lord Legolas a whore." All turned to the speaker in the room. It was Tresir. He was still staring at the ground, not looking up at anyone, as he stepped away from Hilmer's side. " Gregor did beat the horse, said that it was too lame to feel it. When the Elves stepped in, he called them bastards and their father a whore, who was a freak for birthing his own children. The one struck only in defense of his father. The other held Hilmer back when he tried to step in. It was a one on one fight, but the Elf was just too fast for Gregor to fight back. He got what he deserved."

" Shut up you coward!" Hilmer growled at him. " They had no proof!"

" Yes they do," Elrohir took this time to step into the room. " I have just spent the last half-hour tending to the bleeding wounds of a horse not even a full month old. The poor creature was not even lame, only sprained its ankle. It could have easily been tended to. What was done to that horse was nothing short of barbaric. It no doubt unable to be ridden now, due to its fear of people. I have barely been able to calm it enough to take care of it."

" This is a plot by the Elves against my son!" Gredon exclaimed. " They have even conned this disgraceful wretch in on their schemes!"

" Why do I have a reason to lie?" Tresir asked. " I too am guilty for not stopping Gregor when I should have. I am willing to accept my punishment, but I am not going to let them get in trouble for something I have been dying to do for years and would of done had he spoke such about my own parentage."

" You daft whelp!" Hilmer stepped towards him. " I don't know why we ever let you come around us! You are not even to your majority yet! Your just a childish wretch following us around!"

" I would watch who you spout blame upon, young one," Legolas finally spoke. " Are you more angry at him for speaking the truth, or for him disproving your lies against my sons." He then spun his stare to Gredon, his eyes as chilled as ice. " And you, Lord Gredon of Fillowild, you have something against us Elves, do you not? Is it because you despise your own Elven heritage, the heritage of the Númenor? It is you yourself who has taught your son this hate! And now you see that he has paid for it."

Aragorn stood, his form regal and stern. His eyes fell on all involved. " It is my decision that this will go to the Council, should Gregor wish it so. But with the evidence to the contrary on his claims and the claims of his fellow 'victim', charges of animal abuse shall also be brought. If this proven true by the evidence, then your son will be whipped much like he did to the poor beast, and then the horse shall be removed from your ownership."

" Milord!" Gredon's eyes were wide. " Has my son not already paid for this supposed 'crime'? Is he not already now lying unconscious in the Healing Ward?"

" But he was not struck for his transgression upon the colt," Aragorn pointed out, " but for his slandering of Lord Legolas' honor. And it is the right of the son to defend the honor of his parents. Just as it is also the right of Legolas to demand penance of your son for his slighting of him."

" What?" Gredon was in shock. He had saw this as his chance to finally begin ridding Gondor of the arrogant race of Elves, and yet it had not gone as he had planned. It had turned on him and his son, who was now seen as the guilty party. He had not expected one of his son's supposed 'friends' to turn traitor at such a crucial moment. And his son had told him that Tresir was too much of a coward to speak out against anyone! He had to think of something fast to make all of this go away.

" What would 'Lord' Legolas ask for in assurance that this all would be forgotten?" he asked. " Surely we can come to some sort of agreement?"

" I want nothing," Legolas stated, his voice still empty. " Only that you would leave us be and hope you never step foot with in the boundaries of Eryn Gael."

" No," Amúntel shook his head. " The colt, it should not remain with them. It is far too young."

" Then that is what I ask for," Legolas gave his son a small smile. " I ask for the colt as penance. One of our own recently gave birth, so she would not have objections to caring for another as well. Give us the colt your son harmed and this will be easily set to the side, though not forgotten."

" But…but that is the result of prize breeding with a Lord from Rohan," Gredon stuttered. " You cannot possibly…?"

" A wounded horse is more important to you than your heir?" Elladan asked him.

The man was silent before tossing his hand up carelessly. " Take the wretched beast," he told them. " It will be of no use to me. But this is now sealed. Over."

" So done," Aragorn nodded. " Now you all may go, return to your rooms or homes for this hearing had ended." He stood and stepped down from his throne walking off to the side through another exit rather than the main one. He still had much work to do within his study and this alone left him feeling drained. Guards led Gredon, Tresir, and Hilmer from the room first, preventing any incident from occurring on the way out. Elladan and Elrohir watched as Legolas and his sons left, going to his rooms no doubt, but they could tell from the look upon the blonde's face that this was far from over.

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Translations:

Adar - Father

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Kathrine: Okay, so the trial thing was really crappy. We'll probably go back and redo it later.

JC: Look at it as a Grand Jury hearing, seeing there is enough evidence to go to trial, but seeing as Aragorn is King, he is the Grand Jury.

Kathrine: Only special cases get sent to him, like ones dealing with delegates from other realms/colonies and such.

JC: We kept pointing out the Council, which is like the head of Aragorn's advisors in a group to decide cases, like a jury, with Aragorn as judge. Makes it easier on the king instead of having to decide everything.

Kathrine: Okay, with that out of the way…You find out the answer to your questions NEXT! And that chapter is all ready set to come out. But we'll post it in like two days. Be patience.

JC: Leave us a review and tell us what ya think!


	4. Chapter 4

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Kathrine: Here we have it!

JC: Yes, the chapter has answers to many of the questions you seek, but also a few knew ones to wonder about.

Kathrine: Expect lots of Legolas-angst! And we would like to dedicate this chapter to Eressë because she is the one that helped us fix it up. Hannon lle!

JC: Unfortunately, no one guessed right on BOTH questions, but you'll find out one of the answers in this chapter and the other we'll give at the end.

Kathrine: We hope this came out well enough, but we actually are very pleased with it.

JC: And with no further stalling…Chapter 4!

Disclaimer: We do not own LOTR or its characters, but that doesn't mean we're not working on a time machine! We're gonna go back and kidnap Tolkien!

Warnings: Angst, Sick Legolas, Tension, Depressed Legolas, Angry twins, Character Death (Not now, but later! We just forgot to put it in).

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Weight of the Burden

By Jennifer and JC

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Chapter 4

He shut the door with little gentleness before turning his eyes to the two stationed on the long couch in his sitting room. The twins kept their eyes turned away from their sire, both knowing the chastisement that would come. " I am disappointed in you both," he started. " Neither of you are Elflings any longer and know how to act accordingly. Even though he spoke harshly against me, I would not have struck out at them violently."

" You would never strike out against anyone, save an Orc or another creature of Mordor," Amúntel spoke indignantly. " But we could not let him speak so about our heritage or you!"

" They were past their majority, just like we," Andúnel pointed out. " They had no right to hurt that poor horse, nor to demean you! We could not bear to let it go!"

" It is my fault, _Ada_," his twin admitted. " I am the one who struck out. Andu merely kept that other boy, _Hilmer_, from interfering. It was a one-on-one fight. I was just the better warrior."

" You mean 'brawler'," his father snorted. " Using your fists so disgracefully is not fighting like a warrior, but as someone with no care for the proper way of settling disputes. I would expect better out of you, both of you." His gaze swept over them, still frustrated. " No matter how far past their majority they are, they are still younger and more ignorant than either of you are. And I would ask that you act that way. And it matters not who started it or participated more, you both are to take blame."

" Would you have allowed someone to speak that way about _Ata'da _Thranduil?" Amúntel inquired. " Would you have merely brushed off someone speaking so about your own mother or father?"

Legolas was silent for a moment, not sure how to go about answering their question. He knew that in this they were most like him. " No, I would not," he sighed. " I never could."

" What?" both his sons raised their brows.

" When I was an small Elfling," he stated with a small smile on his face, " I got into a fight with another _ellon_ over my mother. He had heard a conversation that his parents had the night before and was repeating it to his friends. He said that my mother was not worthy to serve as my father's mistress, let alone his queen, merely because she was Silvan and not Sinda."

" WHAT?!" the twins' eyes were wide in disbelief.

" No one would speak so about _Iaur-naneth_!" Andúnel exclaimed.

" Yes they would," Legolas countered. " Even after them being married for millennia, some, those be noble Sindar, still believed that she was not worthy of him and that he should not have 'mixed' the royal blood with that of a mere Silvan. I told him to take it back, that he should not speak so about my mother. He refused and I, being only forty years of age, threw him to the ground and fought with him, giving him quite a blood nose and lip before his friend decided to join in against me. It was Ithinor who found us, and told Lagorwest and my mother since they were together. Unfortunately, he also told my father."

" What did Grandfather do to you?" Amúntel asked. " Were you punished badly?"

" Actually," Legolas stated, " it was my _naneth_ who punished me. My father was too angry at hearing that someone had spoken so degradingly about her. He wanted to deal with the parents of the other _ellon_ for saying such a thing. My mother convinced him otherwise, saying that it was not worth it over petty words. I, on the other hand, was not given dessert that evening and then forced to remain indoors the next day."

" _That_ was your 'punishment'?!" the twin's didn't know what to be more stunned over, the fact that the grandmother they were told was of such sweet temperament had punished their father, or the fact that it was such a low form of it.

" Believe me," he said. " It was quite harsh to me at that age. The dessert just happened to be sugared fruit pie, my favorite, especially my mother's recipe and the next day was to be a scavenger hunt for the young Elfling beginning their training as hunters. But later that night she came to me, and explained that I could not fight so over her. She told me that a person was more brave and honorable for walking away from things and letting go, then to look for revenge. At first, I didn't believe her, for she was never one for fighting unless in self-defense, even though she was a trained warrior, but I accepted it. Two weeks later she was killed by Orcs...and I gave up. I told her that she was wrong, on her grave I swore revenge on every creature that harmed another like they had her. But all that did was eat away at my soul for decades."

" What do you mean?" Amúntel asked. " I know you hate Orcs and their like, but no more than any other."

" But at a time I hated them so badly I wanted to drink their blood after striking their heads from their shoulders," he told them. " I wanted each one to suffer for what they had done to me and my family. We were broken and I was so young I knew not how to fix it. Upon my majority and joining of the border patrol I would accept the harshest tasks and missions just so that I could kill Orcs. But when I was past two hundred years old, I was reunited with my childhood friends, Elladan and Elrohir. I was so sure that they would understand my desire…my NEED to kill and destroy what had destroyed my family. But they told me to let go, to give up my hatred."

" Why?" Andúnel wanted to know. " We were taught that their own mother, Lady Celebrian, was also harmed by Orcs, to the point that her only chance was to leave for Valinor. Why would they not understand?"

" But they did," he stated. " For two centuries they had been fighting, traveling and killing the wretched creatures. They had started their battle near the time that I was born. But when I met them again, there was a sense of peace in their eyes that I had never seen in them before, a look that showed they had finally let go themselves, even if only partially. They fought with such fierceness against the foul beasts, but they had also moved on with their lives as much as they could. I wanted to know how they could betray their mother like that, how they could throw away her memory by not putting their full effort into their battle against the creatures who had taken her from them."

" You _said_ that to them?!"

" Yes, and was struck for it by Elladan," he chuckled. " I was shocked, I didn't understand. But that was when Elrohir told me something that has remained with me ever since then, 'We have never forgotten her or what was done, but our hate and need for revenge only succeeded in causing more hurt to those we love that are left. Because of our hate they could never let go, could never move on from the pain either. Our mother would want us to live, to be happy and truly alive, instead of remaining trapped within a tragic past. So we let go, can you not do the same?'

" I had not even let go enough to think of how much I hurt everyone else in my family," he sighed. " They suffered just as much as I, but I was so wrapped in my own pain I did not see theirs as well. And they were right, for I recalled what my mother had told me just two weeks before her demise. She would not want me to lose myself to my revenge, but to live a full life of love instead. I would not forget her, but merely remember the wonderful forty years I had her, rather than the ones without. It was that night that I finally cried over her death."

" _Ada_…" Andúnel didn't know what they could say.

The blonde Elf was not yet done. " So you see, it was not worth it. I am still here, I am not near death, nor in pain. Please see how petty their words were. They did not hurt me, and never will. Do not let hate do such things to you. I know you sought to defend me, but if you seek to do so for everything that is said or done towards me, it will never end and you will lose your lives to your revenge."

" We see," the twins spoke together, a sigh coming from both. Amúntel shot a glance at his twin and Legolas knew that the two were speaking to each other. There was something else that was bothering them, something that they weren't sure to ask. Legolas had a guess that he knew what it was about.

" _Ada_…" Andúnel started. " We don't know… Something has left us wondering for years and yet we did not know how to approach it, because we knew that it would hurt you. But we know now is the time. What happened to our other Father? You have often told us that he was gone to the sea and you had kept us a secret from him…but you never told us who he was or why he left."

" We are adults," Amúntel put in. " It is not as if he should ever have to take care of us any longer. Is it not time for us to know? We have waited over a century. And yet it always felt as if something was missing from our lives, something we knew not how to fill."

The golden _Edhel_ closed his eyes for a moment. " _Amin hiraetha_, to you both," he whispered. " I knew you would feel the absence, but I could never gather the courage to tell you the truth. But I now know that it is time to tell you. This is something I have often wondered over my decision since your birth. I believed I was doing what was right, for even though you weren't planned, you have always been the greatest treasures of my life. Still, I knew not how it would affect others. Perhaps now, after a deep conversation with a dear friend, I have realized that it was not the right decision."

" Then why is it so hard to tell us?" he asked.

" Because I have held it in for so long," he whispered. " And I know that as soon as you find out, you would leave and search for them. You might even be angry with me."

" We could never be angry-" Andúnel words halted. " Did you say '**them**'?"

Legolas remained staring right into both of his sons' eyes, not turning away. It was time to let out the truth. " Yes 'THEM'," he nodded. " For there are two."

" Do you mean you don't know which one?" Amúntel's eyes widened. " But how could you not…?"

" No, they are both your father, I found this out from Lord Elrond himself," he told them. " It was right before we reached the Battle of Pelennor Fields upon one of the Corsair ships," he stated. " I sought comfort before the most important of our battles and…" Suddenly the door to his room was slammed completely open and the sound of a crash was heard. He spun around and found his eyes taken in by silvery grey. _Oh no…_he thought, his mind beginning to panic.

" Legolas…" Before him stood the Sons of Elrond, both bearing looks warring between disbelief and anger on their faces. There was a silver platter on the floor, goblets and a large bottle of what appeared to be wine shattered around it.

" We thought to come and settle things between us, to find out why you have avoided us for so long and also rescue your sons from harsh punishment…but now we know why you run whenever we are near," Elladan seemed more angry than upset.

Elrohir turned and shut the door, keeping all others out by locking it. " Why have you never told us? Did we not have a right to know?"

" You don't understand," Legolas said, realizing that everything was falling apart quickly.

" Ada, what is going on?" Amúntel demanded. " What are they talking about?" He looked at the two older twins, his eyes searching theirs. _I have often wondered why their eyes look so much like ours, so unique, so familiar…_

" No…" Andúnel gasped just as he read his brother's thoughts. " No, this isn't… _Adar_, tell me this isn't true!"

" That night on the ship to the battle, over a century ago," Elrohir spoke. " That one night we spent together…you became pregnant? And you kept this from us?"

Legolas turned his head away, not knowing what to say. The ache suddenly returned and he didn't know how to control it. " Yes, they are your sons, both of yours," he whispered. " And yes, I kept this from you."

" WHY?!" Elladan demanded. " Why did you not tell us?! How could you deny us such a thing as our own children!"

" How can they both be both of ours?" Elrohir asked, his voice suddenly cold.

" You father said that you bore two halves of the same soul and it could happen when we spent our night together," the blonde answered as he placed a hand upon his chest, pressing lightly against the pain he felt. " That night…you both…and such I became with children."

" Our FATHER knew of this?!" Elladan was outraged. " And he never told us?!"

" I swore him to secrecy before I even allowed him to fully examine me," Legolas told them instantly, his tone somewhat pleading. " He urged me to tell you, but I didn't. I thought it best for you to remain free instead of tied down. You both made it clear that that night was not something that was a rare occurrence."

" They are our sons!" Elladan motioned to the two young Elves who sat in shock upon the couch, unable to speak, but then he shook his head. " How do we even know they are ours?"

Legolas' eyes were filled with hurt at this accusation, " I have never lain with any other _ellyn_ but you two. You father is who told me all of this. I did not even know I was with child until he told me. Even _he_ did not believe I was with twins."

Elladan growled, " Then how could you be so selfish as to hide them from us?"

It was then that the auburn-haired twins were shaken from their disbelief by those hurtful words. They saw the look upon their father's face, the hurt and pain that was always there yet never as pronounce as it was at that moment. Amúntel let out a low growl. " Don't you ever speak like that to him again!" he jumped up from his seat. " Do you know why he didn't tell you about us? We've asked him the same question all our lives and it has always been the same answer! He did not wish to take away your freedom to do as you pleased! Know why? Because he has been in love with our father - the both of you - since we can remember!"

" You don't know what you're talking about," Elladan declared.

" Nay, it is you who does not know," he frowned. " Our father has always been honest with us about this, told us how we came to be, why he kept us secret, why he would not tell us who our other sire was. He loved you and that night all he wished for was something to keep of you, so he would not forget. That is how we came to be. He loved you! Elbereth, he still loves you!" It was then that the younger twin realized what he had said. It was also at that very moment that Legolas' eyes rolled back and he collapsed to the ground.

" Ada!" Andúnel cried out, rushing to his father's side. He turned to his brother. " Go call Uncle Aragorn. He's chilled like ice! The spells have worsened!"

Within moments his brother had unlocked the door and was gone. Elrohir kneeled next to Legolas on his others side, watching as Andúnel pulled his father into his lap, moving his hair away from his closed eyes. He slid his hand down and touched the blonde's cheeks, feeling the strange coldness. He then closed his own eyes and reached out to the archer's spirit trying to feel what was wrong. Pureblooded Elves were never as chilled as he was even in the winter, for they did not feel the weather. But all he felt was a strange pull as if Legolas was trying to get away, to lose himself. His eyes flew open for he knew this feeling.

" It's Grief," he whispered. " He's Fading."

" What?" Elladan stared at him. " You mean the Elven Sickness? But why would he tell no one? It could not have simply come over night!"

" What did you mean when you spoke of 'spells'?" Elrohir asked Legolas' son…his son.

" Ever since we were born, he has had spells of fatigue, where he would become very tired and need to rest," he explained. " They are usually not this bad. The stress must have made them worse."

" No, this is not some simple bout of fatigue," the younger twin Peredhel shook his head. " Your father is suffering from Grief and has for a very long time, from what you say. It has finally overwhelmed him. 'Tis a feat to fight it off for so long. If something is not done he will fade to Mandos."

" No!" Andúnel shook his head fervently as he hugged his father closer. " This isn't happening, he will not fade. He CANNOT… _Ada, saes koiva…saes Adar_. YOU are our only true father. We can't lose you. We're sorry we ever brought any of this up." Elladan and Elrohir watched as the auburn-haired Edhel cradled his sire to his chest with saddened expressions, awaiting the arrival of his brother and the king. A strange weight settled within their stomachs, neither knowing how this would turn out in the end.

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/ _He could feel them touching him, their hands inciting a burning heat that he had never before felt. He had lain with few Elf-maidens before, but never had he wanted another male, not like he wanted the sons of Elrond. Ever since he was a child, he had looked up to them for being older and wiser, like his elder brothers, Thôredhel, Lagorwest, and Glosshen. But since the day that they had opened his eyes, helped him to release the pain over his mother's death, he had seen them in a different light._

The Battle for Middle Earth was finally coming to a head, the weight of defeat so near and yet victory within their grasp, as long as they retained their hope in the two young hobbits who treaded into the bowls of Mordor. He needed the comfort, the reassurance that a warrior would at times receive from his fellow comrades. He knew of it, knew that it happened in Mirkwood often, as warriors would in turn become mates if it went that far, but that was not as usual. But never had he even thought about seeking such solace…until the Twins of Elrond…Elladan and Elrohir.

They saw the worry in his face, the slight grief he felt at the inevitable losses that they would face, the people who would die far before their time, and those they had already felt. They offered him comfort and he wanted to deny them, wanted to tell them he was all right. But they could see the truth in his eyes, as they always could within their centuries of friendship. And how could he refuse the one desire he had prayed for in his most secret of dreams for so long?

" We do not often allow another within our bond," Elladan whispered as his lips ghosted along the golden blonde's abdomen. " But we know that you need this, **mellonamin**_, for you need release before this battle. You will be the first in almost a millennia." The lips clasped onto his left nipple, sucking and nibbling at the same time, causing short gasps to come from his dry lips._

The ship rocked as they moved, making Legolas almost feel as if he was being lured to sleep, but he was also fueled by the fire that would most certainly not be put out should even the water outside reach him. The sea was so soothing, yet demanding at the same time. He could feel the call now, the one that the fair Lady Galadriel had warned him of. He could not halt its siren voice now, but merely ignored it as best he could until it was indeed his time to leave the shores of his home.

Elrohir stroked his hair and he sat behind him, his pale back pressed against the **peredhel**_'s slightly tanned chest as the raven-haired one opened his mouth to lick at the tip of his ear. As with all Elves, this caused a spiral of untamed fire to spread to his point of need, making him arch even more into Elladan's hands and mouth. " You are not alone, Laiqualasse," Elrohir cooed into his ear. " We are here for you, little Leaf… We will always be here."_

His chest felt chilled, though he would normally not feel it, the wind from a gentle breeze swept in from a crack within the closed window of the room. Aragorn and Gimli were on deck, Gimli due to seasickness and Aragorn to watch their way. They would not be able to hear them with the sound of the waves so loud against the sides of the ship. Suddenly, delicious heat enclosed over him and an empty cry escaped his lips. With wide eyes, he turned to the sight of the dark head hovering above his lower body while the mouth continued to excite his raging blood even more.

" Uhnn…Ell…Elladan…" he gasped. " **Saes**_…saes…"_

" Hush, **lass-tithen**_," the elder twin murmured. " Let us take care of you." It was then that he was lost to their power, forever gone. The pleasure they gave him lasted until late in the night, but all that mattered was that he had gotten his wish. That was…until they spoke that morning._

" **Hannon lle, mellyn nin,**_" he thanked them tiredly, his body full sated._

" Think nothing of it," Elrohir told him with a smile. " You are our dearest friend…and will always be. We would do anything for you, this is no different."

" Aye, we may be with one another," Elladan added, " but we will always help another in need, especially when they are as close to us as family. As close to us as you, Laiqualasse."

It was no worse than a shot to the heart with a poisonous arrow, though he could not understand why. He had known that it would only be this once, that such a thing would never happened again. **They love one another far too much to even think of a permanent 'addition'**_, he told himself realistically, yet sadly at the same time. _**It would be as if giving a person an extra leg, unneeded and obviously restrictive to the rest of his body. **_It was then that he first felt the ache that would plague him for so long._

****

Oh dear Elbereth_ he prayed in depression._** Allow me at least one gift to remind me of this night, whether it is even something as simple as a breeze of their scent on lonely nights. I know I will love no other, and I never could, for my heart has already bound itself to them. May it be that my soul never wishes to as well, for then I would surely die. **_He knew not that he would be gifted with something so wonderful as to help his strengthen soul and yet bring such sorrow for years to come…/_

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/ " Legolas what is wrong?" He turned to face the concerned silver/grey eyes of Elrond Peredhil who stepped up towards him from the one side of the room.

" I am fine milord," he assured him. " Nothing is amiss. What is it you wished to speak to me about?"

" Your attendant, who draws your bath in the morning, said that you were ill and have been all week," the elder Elf stared at him. " She came to me personally because she was concerned and did not wish to worry her King when he already has so much to do."

" I am fine," he told him. " It is just because of being relieved of all the stress finally. After a year it has taken finding different ways of leaving my system."

Elrond's silver/grey eyes bore into him, reading him although he wished not to let him. But he had never been able to deny the Lord of Imladris and knew he could not now. Within the privacy of the Peredhel's sitting room, the two would not be disturbed for a while and that left Legolas open and feeling vulnerable. " There is a pain inside you," the dark-haired elf told him. " But you ignore it, deny it, push it away. It is not the sea-longing, though I know you feel it. It is something far deeper that bears the sorrow over something else."

He reached out to the blonde sitting next to him and touched his stomach. Legolas froze, unsure as to why he would do such a thing. He felt a slight heat flow over his abdomen and then a soothing release as if all tension had left his body. He let out a sigh before leaning back into the corner of the couch. " Wh-What did you do?"

" I only used my ability as a healer to find out what I could already sense was true," he stated. " Legolas…you are with child."

Blue eyes widened before a hand came to clutch at the blonde's chest. " No," he shook his head. " This can't be true! Nay! I…I have only…You must be wrong…"

" I would not lie about something like this," he seemed sterner about that, as if it was an affront to his very practice as a healer. " But I must give a full examination, to know that you and the child are healthy. I can only do this with your permission for something feels different with this child. Something I have never felt before."

" There is something wrong with my child?" he asked, fear tinting his words. " What could be wrong?"

" I know not," Elrond admitted. " That is why I must examine you."

" But…" Legolas wanted to say no. This was too much. He was with CHILD. He knew that some Silvan Ellyn could have children and his great-grandfather had given birth to the late queen's own mother, his grandmother. But they had believed that due his father being Sinda that his children would be more than less probable to have the male-begetting trait. It seems they had been wrong.

****

He must check my child,_ he realized. _**He believes something is wrong.**_ Then he realized something. _**The twins! Which one is the father? How will I ever know? They are identical! My child will look like both or neither if he looks like me. How can I tell?**_ He then thought of the wish he had made on that night two months before. He had practically begged Elbereth for such a gift. And his wish had been granted._

****

I shall forever have this remembrance, this piece of me that is also part of one of them._ In a way he felt lighter at that thought, knowing his child would be both his and one of the twins'. But which one? Could Elrond tell him? _**Elrond!! He is the grandfather! How can I tell him I bear his first grandchild, though I cannot tell him which of his sons is the sire? He will think me a whore! Or believe that I seduced one of his sons from the side of his beloved twin. How can I tell him?!**

__

Elrond noticed the pallor overwhelming the young Prince's skin. It was obvious that his thoughts only seemed to bring more harm by upsetting him. He had to find a way to calm him, else it could bring harm to the child growing within him. Stress like this would only lead to premature birth or miscarriage. " Legolas, please tell me what troubles you," he asked. " I will not reveal this information to any other. As a healer that would be confidential and only you could allow me to release it."

" Then I swear you to secrecy," the blonde whispered in a soft, saddened voice. " Though if I tell you, I know you will not think well of me. You will believe things that I would not blame you for. I have thought them of myself."

" I will think no ill of you," Elrond told him reassuringly. " Nor will I tell another, unless you ask it of me. This I swear on my duty as a healer."

Blue eyes turned away, staring at the pale, trembling hands in his lap. " I sought comfort before the Battle of Pelennor Fields," he started. " I-I knew we would lose many, most young men barely into their majority, barely into the ripeness of their lives. He-**They** offered me solace so that I would not falter in battle."

" THEY?" Elrond's eyes widened as if just realizing something of great importance. " You speak of my sons, of Elladan and Elrohir."

Legolas' head flew upwards. " How…"

" My dreams spoke of this," he told him. " Of my grandchild who would be of both my sons, though birthed by neither. I never saw who the mother could possibly be, but now I understand why I would always see a glimpse of golden hair."

" Y-Your dr-dreams?" Legolas whispered. " The Valar knew I would ask for this?"

" It appears so, for I have had this dreams for many centuries," he spoke. " But you were only around two hundred when they began."

" Two hundred?" It was when he first knew he had fallen for the sons of Elrond, when he admiration and affection turned into a longing love. He was slowly coming to accept this, although one thing still confused him. " But how could it be possible for my child to have three sires, two being the ones to give their seed? Would Elbereth perform such a confusing miracle for me?"

" It would be possible," Elrond spoke, " had seed from both my sons reached the unturned soil within you. I take it that they both…?" He didn't finish the question, it being somewhat awkward to ask concerning his own two sons and their sexual interactions. Legolas refused to look at him and he was not surprised, for the blonde sought to hide the increasing blush on his ears and face, yet it was enough to give him his answer.

" They are of one soul," he continued. " Bonded in everything they do. Perhaps their spiritual link goes so far as to include something such as this. But it could merely be the blessing given to you by the Lady. Not all things should be questioned, only accepted as they are."

" Are you sure my child will be from BOTH of them?" he asked once more for reassurance.

" I know what I saw in my dreams," Elrond placed a gentle hand on his arm. " Hair rich with colors of the sunrise and sunset, eyes of the bloodline of Eärendil, and laughter that filled the halls with happiness. A soul as two bonded into one, though neither able to be separate, much like the twins themselves. Your child will be a wonderful one, indeed, though my dream did seem strange in ways."

" What ways?" the prince asked earnestly. " Please tell me all, nothing must be left out."

" It only is that the child that appears within the dream changes often, time becoming off, less decisive," Elrond tried to explain the complexities of his vision. " He would be in one place at one time and the next second he could be in an absolute other, but it never seemed as if the time had changed at all. My dreams usually do not come in such flashes of time less it is over a great expanse of it. This merely seems as if it goes day by day.

" If the aura of the child was not so distinct and similar in all the visions," he then gave a small chuckle. " I would have believed you were to bear twins. But even the halves of the soul between my own sons are not completely identical, for they are not both the exact same half, much like the cutting of an apple." He tried to think of a way to better explain what he was trying to convey.

" Both sides would appear perfectly identical," he went on, " but there would always be one small detail that was to the contrary, whether it be a side was more round than its opposite, or another seemed more bruised, thus defining which side of the apple was which though only through serious and close observation. There were no differences within the spiritual aura of the child I saw."

Legolas let out a small sigh as he turned his eyes to his still flat abdomen. It was almost too much to believe, knowing that he carried a new life within him, growing and shaping into a child that he would raise, care for, and protect for the rest of his life.

" You should tell my sons soon, they will be most happy," Elrond told him. " They love chil-"

" Tell them?" Legolas seemed to become even paler, if it was possible. " I cannot tell them! They must NEVER know!"

Elrond gave him a disapproving stare. " They have the right, as being the sires of this child," he told him. " This should be a gift of joy, not a deeply hidden secret."

Legolas shook his head vehemently. " I cannot do that," he stated. " It would clip their wings like that of a caged bird, forever chained to one that they spent but one night with. They took pity on me that night, like they would do for any friend and comrade. I would not burden them with my mistake. It would destroy their freedom."

" Freedom?" Elrond repeated. " Legolas, see reason, this child will need more than one father."

" My own father raised me well, just as he was raised alone by his own adar," the blonde pointed out. " I shall care for my child and he OR she will be born within my new home beneath the boughs of Ithilien, once we begin to build it. My child will have all the love that my people and I can provide. I will not bring hate into its life such as that, for your sons will most assuredly despise me for wishing to become pregnant without even consulting either of them. They will see it as a deep betrayal."

" Will they not also feel betrayal for hiding their child, my grandchild, from them?" he inquired. " Why would you do such a thing to yourself and them?"

" I asked for something to remember the night my one true wish came true, called upon Elbereth to grant my wish," Legolas stated, tears filling his eyes. " They knew nothing of it, they know not even how I feel. How can I ask of them to give up their wandering ways and settle when it is not what they want and most certainly not the person they wish to do it with. I will be the extra limb that hinders them, one they do not need. So to prevent this, they will not know of my child until after he is born and then, should they ask, I will say what I will repeat to all: My child's other sire is gone, passed over the sea as so many of our people have done."

Elrond stared into the despairing eyes of the young Elf, who by far was only just past his first half millennia. He was so young, by all standards. And yet he was still also considered an adult by the traditions of their people, able to make the decisions of one. It seemed that the past year had done much to change the warm, yet serious youngest child of Thranduil. The War of the Ring had taken away the innocence that he'd once possessed, the childlike love for the world and those in it…even if he'd had reservations about Dwarves for quite some time. He was wise and his spirit older than his years, such was what one was 'rewarded' with in war.

" I see your choice has been made," he sighed. " Though I advise against it and will continue to do so…I will not break your confidence. I shall not tell them, even if I believe you should."

" **Hannon lle**_," Legolas thanked him gracefully. Elrond placed a gentle hand on the blonde's still flat stomach, feeling the aura of the growing life. " I shall care well for my child. May you take time together to know each other when we have passed over the sea after Aragorn's passing."_

" Yes," Elrond sighed. " For you know I will not be on these shores much longer."

" You duty has been fulfilled and you long for your beloved wife," the blonde understood. " I just hope you will stay a short while longer."

" Only until after the birth of Arwen and Aragorn's firstborn," he stated. " That will not be far off."

" At least you have known of your first grandchild," he said. " I admit I would feel guilt should I meet you again and present a grandchild that you never knew of, nor expected, though it be you who told me of his or her coming."

" Remember that I love my family and all those I consider part of it," he told him. " Even had they not been of my sons' conception, I would have thought your child a part of my family."

It was obvious the blonde was becoming self-conscious, whether it was something of his youth that he had not grown out of or due to the hormones of his pregnancy, Elrond knew not, but he doubted this would be healthy for the child. He recalled the problems Glorien, late Queen of Mirkwood, had when she was pregnant with Lagorwest and Legolas himself. Thranduil had been near the point of begging him to come to the forest realm with how sickly his wife had been.

" Be sure to take care of yourself," Elrond warned him. " Stress will lead to troubles for both you and your child. You must allow yourself to let go of this depression around you."

" Do not fear for me, milord," Legolas gave him a sad yet determined smile. " I shall stand against the call of the sea, so shall I prevail against the petty wound in my heart. 'Tis nothing that will not heal in time…" Oh, how wrong he would be… /

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Translations:

Ada/Adar- Dad/Daddy/Father

Ata'da- Grandfather

Ellon/Ellyn- Male Elf (sing)/Male Elves (pl)

Iaur-naneth- Grandmother/Elder mother (rough wording)

Naneth- Mother

Edhel/Edhil- Elf (sing)/Elves (pl)

Amin hiraetha- I'm sorry

'Ada, saes koiva…saes Adar'- 'Dad/Daddy, please wake…please father'

Mellonamin- My friend

Peredhel/Peredhil- Half-Elf (sing)/Half-Elves (pl)/Half-Elven

Lass-tithen- Little leaf

Hannon lle, mellyn nin- Thank you, my friends

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****

JC: Okay, this was a long chapter that only got longer when we went through and fixed it.

Kathrine: We do hope that it is less confusing than we thought it would be. Do not worry, the questions ARE going to be answered eventually.

JC: And no, we won't tell you who's going to die.

Kathrine: As you can see, BOTH twins are the fathers. Hence why we said pick a pairing, ANY pairing. Only one person got that answer correct. We also warned about possible incest in the first chapter.

JC: And Paladin's name does come from Pippin's father. In our little world, Boromir thought to honor the one who saved his father from burning by naming his son after HIS father. So his son's name is Paladin.

Kathrine: Okay, now everything comes down to the next chapter.

JC: If the chapters cut out right, you guys on AFFNet just might be getting a lemon. FFNet, sorry, but we are so not into getting in trouble for this. Anyway, leave us review! That way we know if anything was too confusing. If you have questions, ask and we'll answer next chapter.

Kathrine: And to _Sosugarspun_, I hope this explains the bit about Legolas. We know his father is Sinda, but we have always thought of his mother as being Silvan.

JC: There has to be a reason why he calls himself Silvan/Wood Elf throughout LOTR. He doesn't even mention his father, except as his King.

Kathrine: Okay, we'll see ya in two days. Ja ne!


	5. Chapter 5

Kathrine: The next chapter is ready!

JC: Lots of angst in this one, but little Legolas.

Kathrine: We pretty much tried to see how Legolas' condition was affecting everyone else.

JC: No lemon this chapter. We thought this was a better pace to cut it off.

Kathrine: We hope that you enjoy this chapter as much as you have the ones before it.

JC: There's a little more information in this if you're wondering why the twins are together.

Kathrine: Oh, and SatanicRebel666...You can't scare us with the Sick Big Sister!

JC: We have FIVE of them!! We're immune!

Kathrine: Okay…to the angst!

Disclaimer: All because we beat on the characters and make them cry does not mean that we own them.

Warnings: ANGST, Slash, Sick Legolas, Depressed everyone else, Little humor at the end (How did we get that in?)

__

Weight of the Burden

By Jennifer and JC

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Chapter 5

" I do not know what to do," Aragorn stated in despair. " I have never faced a case of the Elven sickness, let alone one so severe. His body is so weak and chilled."

" For his spirit seeks to leave for the Halls of Mandos," Glorfindel told him. " It was much like this with Lady Celebrian. Her soul wished to leave so badly that she sought to go to Valinor as her last hope for life. May it be not such a case for our young Prince."

Aragorn ran a hand through the pristine yet now dull blonde locks on his friend's head. Legolas' sons sat together on a wooden bench against the wall on the other side of the private healing room. Their eyes were filled with fear and as much hope as they could muster. The two were so close to their father, depended on him for guidance, strength, love, and friendship. He could only wonder what would become of them should the blonde not survive.

No, he refused to think pessimistically. _He will survive. I will do all I can to make sure he lives, even if I must give up my own soul to restore his. It is not yet his time!_ To think he had been so worried about his friend's happiness and yet had not foreseen it become this damaging. How could he have been so blind? Elladan and Elrohir stood outside the door waiting in the hall with Arwen, having come with Andúnel when he carried his father to the healing wing. Whatever had caused Legolas to finally lose his grip on life had to do with them, that he knew.

" What can we do for him?" he asked Glorfindel, knowing that he was the best to ask for assistance at this time. It was the Balrog Slayer who had helped Elrond as much as he could to restore the broken spirit of Celebrian, and also had faced the coldness of Mandos before, knew the pull of its halls. But this was a different form of grief, for a different reason. He prayed it would not lead to the same result.

" He fights," the golden-haired Lord whispered as he felt the battle within the blonde's _fëar_ on whether or not he wishes to return. " He knows he has much to live for, but the pain of a broken heart…it can takes the reason from many. And he has fought it for so long…I worry that his spirit may not be strong enough on its own to resist."

" But…what if he does not wish to return?" Amúntel asked, his voice small, yet hard at the same time. He still had not let go of the anger he felt towards the two outside…the two his father called his other sires. They had known of the twin sons of Elrond being lovers, for most all Elves knew it, but it was not something announced to Men due to their restrictions and prejudices. It would be hard to explain the deep bond that drove them to physical intimacy. He did not understand how both could be his sire and that of his brother, but if it was said by the great Lord Elrond, he knew better than to question it…even if at that moment he wish neither could hold that claim.

" Do not say such things!" Andúnel admonished him for his statement. " Of course he would wish to return!"

" Not if he knows all that waits for him is judgment and persecution by the two who hold his heart in their cold, stone hands," the younger twin snorted. " All this time he has loved them, all this time he has thought not of himself but of them and us…and look what they have done."

" Both of them?" Glorfindel and Aragorn were shocked, but not by much. The twin's were lovers, two halves of the same soul using physical intimacy to strengthen their spiritual bond, as only the giving of the body and sprit as one could. It would be easy to fall in love with both, rather than just one. It would actually seem odd to care for merely one of them instead of the two. It seemed even worse to believe that one would go against the other to sleep with anyone, even Legolas. They had always done everything together.

Andúnel stood and stepped to his father's bedside. " They blame him for it all," he stated sadly. " They hate him for not telling them about us, but it seems as if it would have been much easier had we never asked him of our parentage. We have lived so long without knowing, why did we have to ask it of him now? Even with knowing, it means nothing to us, less than it did before. They will not forgive him for this, that I can tell."

" He does not need their forgiveness," Amúntel growled. " It is they who should beg of it from him."

" I warn you now," Aragorn understood the _Edhel's_ anger, but would not put up with it. " Your negative emotions will only make this worse. Control them, Amúntel Legolasion, or leave. I will not lose him because he feels that he has gained your hate as well. And while you think that they have done him wrong…you know your father enough that he will take all fault onto himself. He himself needs their forgiveness, even if only to soothe his spirit and not in truth."

" Then my father will pass," he stated, tears coming to his eyes. " They feel they have been lied to and betrayed. They will not forgive."

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" He should not have lied to us," Elladan remained ever stubborn, even in the face of his sister's anger and disapproval. " He kept us from our children, they are now grown and we have missed the most important times of their lives. He betrayed us."

" From what you said, it was he who asked for a child, even if not in that exact way," she pointed out. " Does it not show his love for you that he would bear your children? Legolas would never intentionally hurt either of you in anyway."

Elrohir leaned against the wall, his arms crossed and his head slightly bowed, his emotions in turmoil. " But he has, Arwen," he stated. " They are our sons, our _flesh_ and _blood_. And he even swore our own _father_ to keep them a secret from us."

" Because he thought he was doing the right thing," she countered. " You two have ever been wandering souls, free do go where you wish and do as you please. Legolas has told me many a time how he envied and loved your freedom and open ways. Why would he wish to tie you down? To have children, you would have had to forsake your travels and take on the roles of parents. Could you have done that for them? Or would you have resented him for doing such a thing to you?"

" Why are you on his side?" Elladan demanded. " They are your nephews, he had hid them from you as well."

" I have watched those boys grow since they were young babes still unable to talk and walk," she pointed out. " They always visited us here with Legolas, and I would in turn visit them in Eryn Gael."

Elladan frowned, " You defend him as if we are the ones at fault in this."

" In a way you are," she stated. " You are all three to blame."

" What?" Elrohir did not understand her reasoning. " We have done nothing. We only found out today."

" And yet you have gone centuries without admitting to him how you feel about him," she glared at him. " As he kept his love a secret…so did both of you."

Both _ellyn's_ eyes widened as they tried to think of what they could say. But as it turned out, their sister was not yet done. " I have known you care for him, more than in the ways of a friend, for three centuries. How is it that you can spend a night together in passion and yet none of you could speak the truth?"

" He only sought comfort that night," Elladan explained. " We gave him that as we would for any comrade we cared such for."

" No, he also sought your love," she sighed. " And instead you put upon the guise of friendship, leaving him to believe that that was all there could ever be. You both are reluctant to bring another into your bed, why go so far for Legolas? And so you have avoided him for the same reason he has avoided you for the more than one hundred years. Had you three opened to each other, we would not be here on baited breath for whether he shall yet live or give into his long-broken heart."

" He shall not fade," Elrohir stated, his words strict, though one could tell it merely hope within them. " He has too much to live for. His…_Our_ sons need him."

" He will fade!" she all but shouted, her eyes burning an icy fire. " While you remain out here, stirring in your feelings of betrayal, he is forsaking his life, whether it be out of lack of your love or in praying for your forgiveness. Should he leave, I know not what shall happen within this family and between our people. Eryn Gael will sunder from Gondor and all _Edhil_ save Eryn Lasgalen for the loss of their Lord. Aragorn will never forgive you. Your sons will either follow him to Mandos or despise your for as long as their souls last in existence."

The twins were silent, their minds racing. " What of you, _gwathel_?" Elladan asked her. " What…What would you do if such a situation that you speak so bleakly of did occur? Would you disown us and have naught to do with us as well?"

Her blue eyes were saddened, trained to the door of the room they stood outside of. " No," she said. " I would not disown you, nor denounce you, for you are my brothers, MY flesh and blood. But I must follow the will of my husband and king…and I know he would seek your hearts on the steel of Andúril should Legolas pass from this world. That does not even take into account what shall be done to you should Thranduil or Gi-"

" You cannot go in there!" the voice of one of the healers broke into the hall. He was trying to force someone back out through the door on the other side of the corridor. " The King stated specifically that no one is to disturbed them!"

A gruff and angry voice let out a loud tirade. " I do not care what that blasted Ranger-turned-king says! I will go where I please and you'll feel my axe against your head if you keep trying to stop me!"

" Gimli," Arwen knew exactly who it was. " 'Tis all right Fanmos, let his pass."

The healer turned towards the Queen and immediately bowed. " Of course, your highness." He was then shoved roughly against the wall as the short and stout form of the Lord of the Glittering Caves barged into the hall. It was obvious by the look in his hazel eyes that he was not very happy, and nearing down right outraged.

" Now what is going on in this mad city?!" he demanded. " I come here for a small time before heading off to Ithilien only to find that the very person I was off to see if HERE but no one will let me see him! What has that crazy Elf done now?! And I swear if I don't get the truth, someone will feel my axe!"

Arwen almost thought it funny how stiff her brothers had become with the presence of the Dwarf. The two great warrior sons of Elrond, comrades of the Dunédain, were very 'cautious' now at the sight one Dwarf. But ever had the Dwarf gone through with his threats had he meant them, and it was quite obvious the he _did_ mean harm to someone if he did not get the truth about his dear friend.

" 'Tis good of you to come at this time when you might be needed most," she greeted him. " 'Tis also sad that you come at such a time when it might not be enough."

Gimli's ire calmed, his eyes filling with concern. " What has happened?" he asked. " What has that Elf gotten into now?" Arwen was not exactly sure how to tell Gimli and how much she should tell him. It was not her place to explain. The door to the room opened and Legolas' sons stepped out, both giving weak smiles the Dwarf's way as they tried to hide their reddened eyes.

" We believed that to be your bellowing, Uncle Gimli," Amúntel greeted him. Neither twin even spared a glance toward Elladan or Elrohir.

" Mayhap you can tell me has happened, lads?" Gimli knew that he just HAD to know what had transpired. " What has your fool of a father gotten himself into? Is he all right? Why do you look as if something grave has befallen him?"

" He…" Andúnel started, but his voice faded off.

" He would be fine," Amúntel answered instead. " But the only foolish thing he did was give his heart to those not worthy of it."

" What? What are you talking about?" He still didn't understand.

" Come, son of Gloín," Arwen placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. " Let us go into another room to where I can explain some of what has happened to you. But Legolas shall explain it all later, for only he can do so. I will advise you to remain calm, for that is what Legolas needs at this time, not rashness." The Dwarf didn't know what to say, but was sure that the Queen's words were not merely a request. He gave a nod, allowing her to lead him back down the hall he had just come from and out the door into the main healing chambers. The door shut behind them, leaving both pairs of Twins alone.

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The tension between the four _ellyn_ was like the weight of the Outer Gate of Gondor pressing upon them. The sons refused to look upon the sires, while said sires knew not what to say, knowing nothing could actually be said to alleviate any of the stress within their once blooming relationship. Elrohir almost wished that none of this had come to light, for while they would not know that they were the fathers of two wonderful young Elves, they would instead have them as a part of their lives. That now seemed nigh impossible.

" Why did you not let him explain?" Andúnel suddenly asked, turning his still teary eyes upon those identical to them. " Why could you not have listened?"

" How is it that you cannot be upset, knowing that he has hid this from you all your lives?" Elladan countered.

" Because he hasn't hid this from us," he replied. " Do you think we have not asked before? It was always the same answer, 'Let it go, it is best that you do not know, for what we shared was but one moment in time that I will forever cherish, though I do not believe the same for him.' He told us how he had never been with another male. He cared for our father, he always reminded us of that. He would not have us believe that we came about from a one-night tryst with someone he cared nothing for. We never even thought that there might be two of you."

" But he told us nothing," Elrohir stated. " We have not seen him in over a century, only to have him avoid us, and then find out that he has bore us sons…twins. We made a pact to never keep secrets from one another and he had broken that in the worse possible ways."

" But you wouldn't let him tell you why!" Amúntel pointed out. " Our father has always been honest with us about everything, save who you were. He believed that telling us would do more harm than good, for everyone involved. 'The twilight nightingale should never be caged, even by its own family, for it will wilt in captivity.' I see now that he was right to lock it away."

Elladan shook his head, his thoughts running rampant, causing the throb of a headache. " So you say he sought to protect us?" he questioned. " He thought it best that we never knew you? That we be left to roam instead of watching our children age?"

" He never ordered you away from Eryn Gael," Andúnel stated. " He never turned you away. What kept you from coming there? While we never journeyed to Imladris, you never came to our home either. I would think that peculiar when you were 'supposedly' such close friends." The words were somewhat spiteful, the elder auburn-haired Edhel knew, but it was a point. Why had they never come to see THEM, instead of merely expecting the other way around?

" W-we spent much of our time between running Rivendell and hunting Orcs," Elladan explained. " Time passes so differently to us. We thought not much of the years apart, though we knew them to be lengthy."

" But could you tell us you would not resent him for having your children?" Amúntel asked them. " You have one another, why want another to intrude into your close bond? Why would he wish to live life knowing he was merely an extra horseshoe you kept around until you wanted a replacement?"

The hand flew out and caught in the side of the face before he even thought to stop it. It was heavy, but not so much that it would cause him to lose his footing. " Never," Elrohir hissed as he drew his near fist back. " Never have we thought of Legolas as such, even when we were grown and he but a young curious Elfling. He will always mean more to us than that…always."

Andúnel was angry, beyond realization, but what he saw before him kept him from lashing out. There were tears filling the eyes of both older _Edhil_. Elrohir stepped back away from his brother and looked ready to collapse. He could almost feel the pain they were in, there was more to their anger than merely the betrayal. It was what he saw in their eyes, what he always saw within his father's eyes when the fatigue would overcome him and in the sadness that never left his blue orbs.

/ But it can't be true. / He told himself.

/ What is wrong? / Amúntel asked him in his mind.

/ They have lied to each other, all this time. / He replied. _/ All these years, all three of them have lived a lie and now each are paying for it, our father more than the other two. /_

/ What do you mean? / His younger brother asked him. _/ Andu, what are you talking about? /_

" Tell him," Andúnel spoke out loud, his eyes on the other two. " Go in there now and tell him how you feel."

" What?" both _Peredhil_ stared at him.

" Tell him the truth," Andúnel stated. " Tell _Adar_ the truth. Even if it comes to nothing between you, tell him the truth. Do not let him fade because of your cowardice, if not for you then for us…for him. Do not let him die over a lie."

" You…" Elladan didn't know what to say. But the words hit him like an arrow to the heart. _Can we fix this? Can we change his fate? Do we truly care as much for him as they believe? Can we watch him die, knowing that we can stop it?_ _Can we truly let him die knowing what he feels for us…what we feel for him?_

" Elladan…" Elrohir started, his eyes gazing to the closed door that was only a few feet away. It was obvious his brother thought the same.

" Yes," he agreed. " We should have let all of this out so long ago. Perhaps then none of us would be paying as we are now." Their sons watched them walked pass as they opened the door and entered, hoping to change the fate they had helped to create for them all.

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Aragorn turned when the door reopened, believing it to be the Andúnel and Amúntel, or even Gimli who they had all heard outside. The two sons of Legolas had gone to calm their raging sworn-uncle lest his anger might accidentally do more harm to their father's spiritual state. But the two he saw enter the room were not the twins he expected.

" How is he?" Elrohir asked, his eyes landing on the pale and withering form of the golden prince.

" Fading, quickly," Glorfindel told them, not worrying about his honesty. " His spirit is afraid to return and yet is not even strong enough to make the journey." He wouldn't speak so bluntly before the children of the Lord of Eryn Gael, knowing neither could take such information after all else that had transpired since that morning. It was now late into the night and the Balrog Slayer feared that Legolas would not greet the coming morn.

" I know not all that has transpired," Aragorn stated, his eyes staying on those of his two brothers, those who had helped raised him from birth, " but I know that this has gone on long enough."

" Yes, it has," the two spoke in unison. " And now it is time to end it."

Aragorn was confused by their words. " What are you going to do?" he asked them. " I cannot allow you to do anything that might make this worse. Too much has been done all ready."

" We do not seek to harm him, Estel," Elladan tried to reassure him. " And yet, we know what must be done."

" You must leave the room," Elrohir told both him and Glorfindel. " He would not like you to witness this."

Glorfindel stood from his seat at Legolas' side and looked at them, searching their eyes as he had always been able to do. He saw in them something that had been hidden deeply from him, but he had always known it was there. For more millennia than he thought to recall at that moment, he had watched over the family of Elrond, those favored by the Vala, Ulmo, and protected them as had been his duty since his revival from the Halls of Waiting. It was only due to the lord's children that he stayed here, keeping watch over them until Arwen's time came and the twins passed over the sea, for it was only then that he himself could go. He had helped raise the three children, especially the two before him, and knew how to read into them as well as their own sire and mother.

And now he saw the truth within the twins' eyes that they had tried so hard to keep away from everyone, themselves most of all. He knew what they were going to do. " Come, Aragorn," he turned to the dark-haired King. " Believe me when I say they seek to do him no harm."

Aragorn knew his brothers were honest by their dual countenance, but did not know if simply leave Legolas in their care. His friend was bound to the physical world of Arda by a bond as weak as a mere sewing thread, and he did not wish to let his friend go without a fight. Would they actually do any good, or would they bring about the golden-haired Edhel's complete destruction as they had seemed to do the most damage already?

" Ever have you been my brothers," he sighed, his fatigue easy to see. " You have helped to raise me and care for me as one of your own, even though my link to you be so nil and myself of the Second Born. But Legolas is the truest friend I have ever sought to have, standing beside me through everything we have faced since the day he met me and protecting me even when his own life be near the brink of death. To lose him before his time is something I could not bear, nor could the rest of Middle Earth."

The twins looked worried somewhat by his words, but he shook his head. " I shall trust you, my brothers," he finally conceded, " but to forgive should he be lost by this attempt, I know not if I can do." With that he walked past them and left the room. Glorfindel nodded to them before going after him, shutting the door behind them.

They saw the twins standing outside in the hall, both looking on with fear and apprehension. They knew not if their father would survive this night and the thought that they would lose the one true parent they had ever known was enough to leave both on the brink of emotional turmoil. It was too much for two who were barely out of their majority to accept. Their father was their pillar, their constant guide.

" Do you know what is it that they attempt?" Amúntel asked. " Do you believe they will bring more harm than good?"

" We cannot know," Aragorn answered. " But know that they will not allow your father to leave this land without a fight. It is not yet his time." The twins nodded. The King then sighed. " I shall go find Arwen and Gimli, for it is with no doubt that his temper has been raised along with his worry."

" Do not worry, I shall remain here," Glorfindel assured him. " I shall send for you should anything happen. You should rest, this day has taken much out of everyone." The dark-haired _adan_ nodded before going down the hall and out into the main healing chamber. The twins let out a unified sigh before Amúntel rubbed his eyes in fatigued.

" You should find Ithinor, _gwan-neth_," Andúnel told his counterpart. " I know that he would wish to know, seeing as he has been a friend to our father for so long. Perhaps 'tis time to send a message to _Ata'da_."

" Only if you wish for him to come and slay the twins," Glorfindel told them. " Ever has Thranduil been protective of his family. He once challenged me to a duel in order to soothe a young Legolas' 'liking' for me."

" What?" Amúntel eyes widened, as did his brother's. " That is not what our Father told us happened. He said that he got over it when you turned him down!"

" Oh, he was so young, his attention changed to another a short time later," he told them, " but only after he went to your grandfather for solace. And as such, Thranduil called me to duel to help his son to recover. It ended as a draw, but Legolas was quite ecstatic to know his father would go so far to see him happy and decided that he didn't need another Edhel when he had his _ada_."

" That is why Lagorwest and Goldhînen say he is Ata'da's favorite," Andúnel surmised.

Glorfindel nodded, knowing his small anecdote had eased their fears in some little way, though they were still present. They would be until they knew that their father was in no danger of passing into the Halls of Waiting. Unfortunately, Glorfindel could not give them such an assurance. Yes, he believed that Elladan and Elrohir meant well and hoped to change things, but he feared it was too late, like it had been with Celebrian, only with far worse consequences.

Amúntel seemed the more upset of the two, but that could be due to the fact that he showed his emotions more openly than his elder twin. He also was quicker to raise his temper should something bring about his ire. Andúnel was more composed, but the tears he shed showed that he was no less distraught. The twins were seeking comfort from one another, leaning upon each other as they had always done, but it was strange that it did not seem enough. At the moment they were both looking as if they wanted to stay, watch over their father, but in too much distress to remain.

" I believe that you both should go and eat," Glorfindel advised. " You've had nothing since early morning and it is now late at night. Your father would not want you to neglect yourselves."

" But…" Neither twin wished to leave their adar.

" I shall remain here," Glorfindel reminded them. " You both shall be of no use to him if you're too stressed and tired to think and behave rationally."

" Aye," Andúnel sighed, knowing the golden blonde-haired Edhel was correct. " We should at least get something to eat." Amúntel gave a small nod in agreement, still somewhat reluctant. " You should get a bath Amun," the elder told his twin. " You smell of stale hay from rolling around with that cad, Gregor. And you hand is still bloodied."

" I was not harmed," Amúntel assured him.

" I did not say it was your blood," Andúnel pointed out. " Come, the faster we do this, the faster we shall return to _Adar's_ side."

They slowly turned and headed down the hall, ready to refresh themselves. Maybe it would allow them to calm down and renew their hope so that their father would be all right. The twins had a deep bond with their father and should anything happened both would know of it exactly when it occurred. As of now, all they felt was an empty pain that left both feeling fatigued. They wondered if this was how their father felt all these years as he battled with his Grief.

Just as they were about to go out the door, Andúnel stopped and turned back to Glorfindel. " You should not neglect yourself, either," he told him. " I shall bring you up a small platter."

"_ Hannon lle_," Glorfindel gave him a grateful smile. The elder twin felt the fluttered in his chest at the recognition. He quickly followed after his brother, rather than allow the Balrog Slayer to see the reddening tinge of his cheeks.

Glorfindel watched them leave with a sorrowful heart. It was far too obvious what that their fates were too closely intertwined with that of their father. They would lose their way should he no longer be there and the Elven lord knew not how long it would take to help them recover, or if they could. _I must not think this way,_ he scolded himself. _Legolas is far too young to leave this world, even if he has children of his own. Elladan and Elrohir will do the right thing, they shall help him. He shall not fade. Mandos' Halls are far too cold and empty for one such as him._

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Translations:

Fëar- Spirit

Edhel / Edhil

Ellon/Ellyn- Male Elf (sing)/Male Elves (pl)

Gwathel- Sister

Gwan-neth- Younger twin

Ata'da- Grandfather

Ada/Adar- Dad, Daddy/Father

Hannon lle - Thank you

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JC: Slight cliffhanger. We'll get to Legolas and the twins NEXT chapter! Promise!

Kathrine: The lemon is coming for those on AFFNet.

JC: Okay, so drop us a review and tell us what you all think. See you all in two days.

Kathrine: Until then, faithful readers.


	6. Chapter 6

****

JC: We're here! Finally!

Kathrine: Okay, FFNet has been a real bitch to us, not allowing us to post this for days on end.

JC: We don't even know why it wouldn't work, but something just kept screwing up the upload.

Kathrine: But NOW we can and you finally have what you've been waiting for…Ell/L/Elr!!!!

JC: No lemon for FFNet, but AFFNet hasn't let us on either. We're wondering if it's actually our computer instead.

Kathrine: Oh well…we'll try again tomorrow and if it works you'll finally have your lemon!

JC: And without further adieu…CHAPTER 6!

Disclaimer: We do not own Lord of the Rings of any of its affiliates…not that we won't someday. (Stares off dreamily)

Warnings: Angst, Sadness, Near-death experience, Bonding, Slash!

__

Weight of the Burden

By Jennifer and JC

Chapter 6

Neither twin spoke as they stared at the sight on the bed, unsure as to how to proceed, though both knew that they must. Legolas was pale, his golden mane somewhat drab across the pillow, but it still did not cover the true light within him. Though it seemed as if it was nearly gone. The glow that surrounded the blonde, and every Edhel, was damp, murky in his grief. It was like a tainted grey shadow, looking ready to swallow their once friend (though they hoped he would be that again and more) whole.

Elrohir stepped forward, coming to stand at the blonde's side. As he came closer to Legolas, he could tell that things were far worse than they had believed. He remembered what they had felt with their mother, the despair and loneliness that permeated her spirit. She thought that no one could understand, that there was nothing left that could stop her from fading on Middle Earth. But around the golden prince there was no sadness, no hopeless, no feelings at all. It was empty as if the blonde had nothing left to give.

" Glorfindel was right when he said that he had not the strength on his own to return, even should he wish to," he whispered. " It is like he is already gone, but his body just hasn't realized it yet. Valar, Elladan what have we done?"

" There is still time to change this, to keep him here," his elder twin reminded him. " He is not lost yet." He strode to the other side of the blonde's bed and sat down beside the cold form. Hesitantly, he reached out his hand to touch the pale, sickly face, but halted when his fingers were close enough to feel the chill coming off his body. He wasn't sure if he could take that step, could finally let go all that they had been hiding for so long.

" What if we hurt him too badly?" he asked his brother. " Will he still accept this?"

" He… He has too," the younger twin took in a deep breath. " It is the only way."

Elladan gave a shaky nod before completing his unfinished act, letting his hand stroke the cold cheek. " Legolas, _Laiqualasse_," he called to the blonde in a soothing voice. " _Saes,_ _meleth_, _koiva_. Legolas, please, you family needs you, do not leave them in darkness."

" _Saes,__lass-tithen,_" Elrohir kneeled next to the bed, taking the blonde's limp hand in his two, rubbing it between them in a vain attempt to warm it. " We are here, _malternil_. We have not left you." They continued to speak to him, hoping that he would awaken, praying to the Lady that it was not too late.

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It was so dark. It was something he always despised, darkness, though he knew it was not something to fear. Even before he was born, darkness had tainted his beloved home of Greenwood, turning into the wary Mirkwood, where a spider could attack you at any turn; you were never safe. It was darkness that had taken his mother away from him, killed his grandfather before he could ever meet him, and ruined creatures and living things that were meant to be gentle and beautiful. He hated the darkness with everything he had.

And yet…this darkness he did not wish to leave. It was quiet, peaceful, and lacking all things that had tore him apart in the waking world. He knew that it was not real, not how his world truly was, but he was reluctant to think that he would have to leave. _Maybe I won't have to,_ he told himself. _I can stay here, away from the pain and rejection. I will be safe…Safe._ He enjoyed that thought.

What reason did he have to go back? It was hard to remember, to think back to what he'd had before the serene darkness. But he could still remember the ache in his chest, the pain that felt as if his heart had shattered into thousands of small shards, slowly biting into the rest of his body and forcing him to bleed from the inside out. It was that pain that forced him to leave whatever he once had in the waking world. But it had also given him this peaceful void that sheltered him from that very same world.

If he tried to connect with his body, to feel more than complete nothing and serenity, he felt cold, a deep biting chill that vied to steal his breath against the total fatigue that settled in his limbs and spread everywhere else. He didn't want to feel, it was better not to feel. So he stayed within his darkness, neither dead nor alive, but rather in the absolute and soothing solitude. He did not wish to go back.

__

But there is something I fail to recall, he thought. _Something of great importance. _But then he thought. _If it was truly so important I would not forget it, so it must not be as important as I believed it might be._ At the same time, the little nagging thought kept returning to him. It was almost as if a part of him WANTED to remember, even though he felt so abhorred to doing so. Remembering would mean bringing back the pain, the harsh reality he had fled. He did not wish to do that, not when he had finally found oblivion.

He had finally forced the worries out of his mind, taking in the silence of both the world around him and his thoughts, when he felt something pull at him. It was very soft at first, the slight caress across his cheek, as if a hand had stroked its thumb over it, but then he felt something touch his hair. He searched the black nothingness, but saw no other anywhere. But who had touched him? Who had intruded upon his seclusion?

It was his hand next, but it was not faint, nor did it fade. It was as if something hand enclosed his hand in a warmness he could not recall but seemed very familiar. He wanted it let go. There were feelings in that touch, emotions of sadness, hurt, and desperation. They were a few of the main emotions he had sought to escape. Only… These were not his own shadowed feelings, but those of another.

__

Who could feel so bleak and grey? he wondered. He knew he himself had felt such desolation and felt sympathy towards whoever else was riddled with the depressive sentiments. The pull became stronger with the more he felt. _No!_ he realized what was happening. He was being called back, they were trying to take him away from his darkness. _Leave me be! Let me go!_ But it was too late, he was already being pulled into a state of semi-reality.

He tried to fight, to force the pull to release its hold over him, but he was not strong enough to resist it. The part of him that had continued to pick away at his memory, became louder as everything slowly came back to him. He remembered his life in Mirkwood, meeting Elladan and Elrohir in Imladris, the death of his mother, his reckless campaign for revenge, finding solace in Elladan and Elrohir, meeting Estel before he became Aragorn and then King Elessar, the War of the Ring, that one night spent with Elladan and Elrohir, the advent of the ache he carried for so long, finding out he was pregnant, the birth of his twin sons, raising Andúnel and Amúntel, the tense reunion with Elladan and Elrohir, the pain in his chest, Elladan and Elrohir discovering the truth, the pain, and then the darkness…

Nay! He did not want to remember! It hurt too much. He wanted to let go, to leave the waking world behind for the rest of eternity. There was too much sorrow back there. /_But what of your sons? /_ that little voice reminded him. /****Would your family not need you? Would they not suffer should you pass onto the Halls of Waiting? Can you be so selfish as to force them to endure that?** /**

No, he thought. _I can't leave my sons…I can't leave Aragorn…Gimli…_**Adar**_…my brothers and sister…Elladan and Elrohir…_ He felt himself being touched, though he could feel the solidity of the hands holding his own and the one alternating between his hair and his face. He could see the particular darkness of the back of his eyelids and feel the ragged breath within his lungs. He had returned.

" - back to us, meleth, saes, come back." It was a voice. One that he now remembered as his memory was recalled. Elrohir.

" We are sorry_, Laiqualasse,_" another voice, so much like the one before, " so sorry." Elladan. It had always been that way since he was just a small Elfling. He had difficulty telling them apart and so Elladan had taken to calling him by and elder version of his name and Elrohir would still call him Legolas. He always knew which it had been until he had learned to understand the small differences between them.

He took in a deep ragged breath, knowing his body was lacking in the air it needed to sustain itself. He disliked the feeling of his eyes being closed and fought to open them. Rather than the instantaneous burst of his eyes flashing open, he was forced to endure the uneven fluttering of the weighted lids and the brief flickers of dim lighting of wherever he was.

" Legolas?" Two voices called to him in unison, causing him to finally regain his sight and wait for it to settle itself before he saw the two water pairs of silvery grey eyes that were gazing at him with such emotion.

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The twins almost held their breaths as they watched the blonde finally begin to stir, continuing to call him in hopes keeping him tied to the land of the living. They watched the activity going on behind the prince's eyelids and knew he was close to consciousness. Finally, the lids flittered about, barely opening enough for them to see the sapphire orbs behind them.

" Legolas?" They called to him once more and were rewarded with the sight of the lids finally peeling back into a half-opened state, finally allowing them to see the dull blue eyes hiding behind them. Said eyes were blank and yet confused and looked out at them with such listlessness that they almost did not believe Legolas was actually awake.

The blonde made a weak grunt, as if trying to clear his throat and his pale tongue darted out to lick his dry lips. But his eyes never left the twins. He finally felt he'd gathered enough strength, he let a hoarse question, his mouth feeling as parched as the desert between Gondor and Harad. " Why?"

They knew what he spoke of. Why did they bring him back?

Elladan's hand stopped stroking his cheek and reluctantly pulled away. " We've done you a grievous wrong, _mellonamin_," he stated, his eyes downcast. " Elbereth, we were so stupid…so blind…"

" We…" Elrohir decided to answer for them. " We couldn't let you go. Not when we finally realized just how much you mean to us."

Legolas didn't understand what they were saying, but could understand the tone in their voices. He didn't want this from them, their pity. With his return to the waking world, he felt everything he had lost. The ache in his chest was there and it hurt to know that the two pitied him like so.

" I…" he tried to speak. " I…do not…want…pity…"

" Pity?" Elrohir repeated.

" No!" Elladan shook his head. " Oh, that is the farthest thing from what we feel." He took up the hand that lay upon the blonde's slightly quivering stomach and held it to his chest. " Ai, Laiqualasse, terrible it is that it would take such an event to show us how much we care for you."

The prince couldn't hide the confusion and apprehension in his eyes. Elrohir knew that Elladan was too emotional himself to fully explain everything. He took a deep breath and tried to find the right words. " We have known you since you were a young Elfling, still practically a babe, and yet we loved you as if you were the little brother we never had." These words seemed to cause a depression in Legolas' eyes and he knew that he would have to get to the point quickly. " But as you grew and became who you are, the beautiful, compassionate, gentle, life-loving warrior you were destined to be…our feelings for you changed."

" What…do you…mean?" Legolas spoke, his eyes were drooping still heavy with fatigued. He removed the hand from Elladan's grasp, clutching his chest as the pain worsened.

" We never told you because we knew not how you felt over such things, for you always kept those thoughts closed to everyone, save you father and king," he replied. " But that night upon the Corsair ship…it was the one wish we had always prayed would be fulfilled."

" I don't…under…" he couldn't finish.

" We must hurry, _gwan-neth_," Elladan spoke, seeing how hard it was for the blonde to maintain consciousness. " This is something we should have done long ago." The elder twin leaned forward and kissed the pale, dry lips of the prince taking in the taste and the feel that he had missed and dreamed of for over a century. Legolas was stiff in confusion, but as his continued to coax him, he slowly relaxed, giving control over to the dark-haired _Peredhel_.

Elladan finally pulled away, licking the blonde's lips one last time and stared into the awed eyes that did not seem as tired as before. "_ Amin mela lle,_" he spoke, his tone and teary eyes proving his validity. " _Lye mela lle, malternil._"

Blue eyes were wide, looking between both twins as if unsure if he was still within his false world. " _Baw_," he whispered. " No…lies…please…"

" No lies!" Elrohir shook his head earnestly. " Ai, if we had only had enough courage to tell you before than none of this would have come to pass. He speaks the truth. We love you, _lass-tithen_… We have for so long that we have forgotten what was it like NOT to love you. We do this, not out of pity or sympathy or duty, but because we love you in a way that we have only known for each other and we would rather join you in the Halls of Waiting than watch you fade. _Saes_, do not turn us away because we took so long. Saes_,_ say we have not come too late."

Legolas continued to stare at them, his eyes filled with tears, unsure whether or not if he could believe these words. Could his mind being playing tricks on him in his weak state? _No,_ he realized. _Not even my sorrowed imagination could give me something so unbelievable._

" Let this be true…" he spoke softly, " for my heart…cannot take anymore."

" 'Lass, this is more true than the stars the Lady weaves into the night sky," Elladan told him as he took up the hand that he held before. Legolas tried to smile at him, but the it was a tired small turn of his lips. He turned then to Elrohir, eyes searching to see if what he saw in the one twin's eyes was in his younger brother's as well.

Elrohir lifted the hand he grasped and kiss it, taking time to lay a gentle kiss to every knuckle before leaning forward and kissing the blonde upon his lips as well. He was very gentle and held back, not wanting to tired the young Edhel anymore than he had already was. He pulled back and lifted his free hand up to wipe away the tears that had begin descending down his cheeks.

" Forgive us for being such senseless fools for waiting so long," he asked sincerely. " Perhaps if we had been more forthcoming, you would not have felt the need to hide from us as well."

" No…not your…" Legolas gasped, his breath stolen from his chest. He couldn't breathe and his eyes were beginning to cloud over. He felt so tired; his just wanted to go back to sleep. Even though he knew he should not.

" _Amin…hiraetha…_" he told them as his eyes began to flitter closed.

The twins felt their hearts race in their chests. " Nay!" Elladan shook his head, trying to keep the blonde with them. " Glorfindel was right, he's too weak! He's still fading!" He looked about the room, wondering what they could do to help Legolas. He knew what must be done.

" Elrohir," he spoke knowing his brother read his thoughts.

" Is he strong enough?" he asked. " I would not want this to fail."

" It is our only hope," he stated before pulling out the blade that was usually kept hidden in his boot. " I'll heat this in the fire, you gather the herbs. I know Estel will have them in here somewhere."

" Yes, _gwan-iaur_," he nodded. Elrohir stood and moved about the room, opening the cabinets and looking at the different vials, jars, and pouches kept there. He pushed many out of the way and stared into the back of the cupboard, where he knew what he searched for would most likely have been shoved to. Men had very few uses for the herb he sought, but he knew that they most likely kept it around, this being the main healing room for royal family and important guests. He knew they would have it there somewhere. He eyes widened when he saw the dusty jar filled with crushed leaves. He pulled it out and blew it off, sneezing at the thick dust, and reading the label.

" I've found it!" he told his brother just as Elladan was pulling his blade from the fireplace hearth. He then poured a small amount of water from the pitcher on the table into a small bowl beside it. He mixed in the crushed leaved, stirring it with his finger and letting the plants dissolve. Mixing with the water it created a dark hazel-like paste. " It's ready."

" Very well, let us begin." He moved over to the bed, sitting down and taking the blonde's hand in his. " Legolas, are you still with us, malternil?" Instead of receiving a 'aye', the only thing they were rewarded with was the opening of the blonde's tired eyes.

" Good," Elrohir smiled and he took the blonde's left, where his brother stayed upon the right. " Now before we do this you must consent. Do you accept us, into your heart and soul? For once this is done is shall never be undone, unless by the will of the Valar themselves."

The blonde didn't fully understand, but he knew their words were of great import. He could feel the tension in the room and wanted to speak, but he was far too weak to do so. Instead he gave a short nod of his head, hoping it was enough to get his point across. From the small smiles that broke across the twin's faces, he would say that it was.

" We have to perform a Binding," Elrohir told him. " It will help you. We will not let you go."

Turning the blonde's hand, palm upward, Elladan placed the still hot still tip beneath Legolas' index finger. " This shall hurt," he told him. " But is shall only be temporary." He then dug in and pulled down in a slant, creating a red line from the tip to the edge of his palm. The blonde was still too far gone to even flinch at the pain. His lack of response only pushed the two to act faster.

" The _fëalia_," he told him. Elrohir removed a small amount of the paste and applied it to the cut. He smoothed it over the entire incision before turning his eyes to watch his brother make an identical cut into his right hand. Elladan then took Legolas' hand in his linking them together so the cuts lined together perfectly, the herb paste between them.

__

Fëalia, a special plant many overlooked, was used to bond ancient warrior _Edhil_ to their brethren in order to save their lives. It would use the strength of another's spirit to tie an Elf to the living world, giving them strength they could not gain on their own. For Mortals, it was truly nothing more than drug that could help with extreme loss of memory and if used too much…could cause something of a strange 'high' for those who used it.

He then passed the knife to Elrohir, who repeated his brother's actions by making a cut into Legolas' other hand, but in the opposite direction of the one on his right. Still the blonde did not respond to the heated steel digging into his sensitive skin. He repeated the application of the herb to this cut as well. Next, he cut into his hand in the identical way of the cut he'd made on the prince. Lifting the blonde's hand up and into his lap, he held it, closing it in his own so as their cuts, too, was aligned.

Taking a breath in unison, the twins began an echoed mantra that seemed to carry around the entire room, filling it with enchantment. " _Let this spirit thread bind our soul to his, linking us forever, taking strength from one another. Let the Valar grace our union, the merging of our minds, souls, and hearts into one being. Let our bond be done so that he may live and we shall live together, as one, if that be the Valar's Will._"

It was almost as if the breath was stolen from the bodies and their hearts stopped for a moment before suddenly beating once more, each moving with the same rhythm as the other two. Their hands burned and they watched as Legolas began to take in deep breaths, his body twisting unconsciously, and sweat breaking out across his face. The twins knew that they had to hold on, even as he tried to force them to release his hands. It hurt, it burned...he couldn't breathe.

" Hold on, my prince," they spoke together, neither relinquishing their hold. " You must be strong. Do not fight it."

The Lord of Eryn Gael seemed to calm at their words, his body still stiff. He was trying to give in, to accept this linking of his _fëa_ to theirs, but the weight of Mandos was heavy on him, the spiritual tugging between the two pulls straining his body and mind as well. Finally, his entire form went limp, his breathing evening out as the binding succeeded. He felt different…whole for the first time in his life. There were two other presences within his thoughts, soothing him, letting him seek their minds as comfort. He knew who they were.

__

/ You have done well, malternil. / Elladan kissed his temple affectionately, letting their minds caress his weary spirit. _/ Our spirits are forever bound together. /_

/ Never shall we part. / Elrohir swore. _/ Too much time has been wasted between us. /_

Legolas opened his eyes wearily, allowing the twins to see the renewed spark rather than dull, clouded orbs. _/ Bound? /_ he whispered to them.

They nodded as one. _/ But not complete. We must finish our binding of body so our union will be set. Are you prepared for this, _**malthener**_? /_

/ Aye, **gwenyn-elen**_. /_ He smiled softly to them.

__

/ Then let us be one. /

The twins smiled in return, Elrohir leaning in to kiss him on the lips. Legolas gave a low moan as his opened his mouth to the other, allowing him to plunder as he willed. Elladan kissed his cheek before trailing wet caresses down to his neck and then shoulder. Neither released their hold on the blonde's hand, as they knew it was the best way to help their bonded to regain strength, by transferring it to him through the special herb and blood. They would take their time, relishing in proving their love and completing their bond completely. It had been too long a wait and too much had transpired for them to put it off any longer.

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Translations:

Laiqualasse - Green leaf (old Sindarin)

Saes meleth, koiva - Please love, awake

Saes, lass-tithen - Please, little leaf

Malternil - Golden Prince

Adar - Father

Mellonamin - My friend

Gwan-neth - Younger twin

Peredhel - Half-Elf

Amin mela lle- I love you

Lye mela lle, malternil - We love you, golden prince

Baw - No

Lass-tithen - Little leaf

Saes - Please

Amin hiraetha - I am sorry

Gwan-iaur - Older twin

Fëalia - Spirit thread (made-up enchanted herb)

Edhel/Edhil - Elf (sing)/Elves (pl)

Fëa - Spirit

Malthener - Golden one

Gwenyn-elen - Starry twins

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Kathrine: End of this chapter, onto the next!

JC: Okay, Fëalia is complete made up by us. We just thought that they would need a little 'booster' to help them pull Legolas back since he was so far gone.

Kathrine: And did anyone else notice the second meanings for the Twins' names? Elrohir's means 'Star-rider' and Elladan's means 'Long Valley of Stars'.

Kathrine: We thought about and in a way that reminds us of Rivendell.

JC: That's why Legolas calls them, Starry twins.

Kathrine: Anyway, we hope you liked this chapter and we're definitely going to try to get AFFNet fixed up for us so you can have the lemon. It's obvious where it is at so keep looking.

JC: Drop us a review and let us know what you think. Until next time, Namaarie!


	7. Chapter 7

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Kathrine: We're back!

JC: Okay, we've had a very stressful last two weeks. We're not going to get into right now, but just know that, rather than have our work suffer, we decided to take a step back to relax and get through some things first.

Kathrine: Yeah, and we actually got our first real Flame. Someone complained that Blood-bonding was disgusting and unhygienic. We were actually mad that our first flame was so pathetic since Elves can't get sick anyway.

JC: We do want to thank Eressë again for being so nice and giving us advice.

Kathrine: This chapter is short, but that's only because we decided to see how Legolas' sons are doing and their ways of dealing with the situation.

JC: It just ended in a good place. So we hope you enjoy it!

Warnings: Slash, Fluff, Sexual Tension, Angst

Disclaimer: We do NOT own LOTR or anything affiliated with it. But we do own the Twin _Legolasiond_ and Ithinor.

__

Weight of the Burden

By Jennifer and JC

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Chapter 7

Andúnel knew something had happened. He could feel the strange bond the he and his brother shared with his father. Before, it had been dormant, empty in a way that left them feeling as if a wall had been erected between themselves and their _adar_. They had been unable to reach his spirit. But now… His spirit was alive, golden, but tired and weak, though in a good way. _They succeeded,_ he realized. _I only hope that all three of them have at last settled this century-long run-around._

He entered the healing wing, carrying the meal that the kitchen maids had provided for him and Glorfindel. Some had been awake, a few doing stock and inventory, while others were gathering the needed supplies for preparing the next morning meal. He had not realized how truly late it was. Thankfully, they were very kind about him asking for an early meal, seeing as it was still three or more hours until they would break fast.

He had then been approached by Queen Arwen, seeking to know if her husband was still watching over Legolas. She explained to him that, after telling him of Legolas' condition, she had bee able to calm him down and send him to his chambers until early morning. She had then praised her grandmother, Galadriel's, influence over the stalwart Dwarf. He told her that Aragorn had gone looking for her, and of what her brothers had gone to do. Not so much to his surprise, she gave him a knowing smile and said that she knew they would follow their hearts.

__

Leave it to the queen, he thought. _She would know of all that goes one within her walls and beyond._

" Andúnel," Glorfindel was waiting for him at the door into the separate hall. The younger twin thought it odd that he was not waiting at the door to his father's room as he said he would.

" What has happened?" he inquired.

Glorfindel gave a weak chuckle, steering the auburn-haired _Edhel_ away from aforementioned hall. " Nothing," he assured him. " Although, I thought it best that they receive more privacy."

" So we shall wait out here?" the twin was not sure he was pleased with this turn of events.

" It will only be for a short while," the blonde told him. " Believe me, it is best that we do not disturbed them."

" So they are…?" Andúnel could feel a blush beginning to cover his face. So far, he had remained controlled around the golden Balrog Slayer, but at the thought of his father -his _fathers_- performing that rather intimate act… He could not deny that he felt somewhat uncomfortable. It was awkward to think of someone who had given birth to you and raised you in such a way. Not to mention quite embarrassing.

The pale blonde elf gave a loud laugh, his jade green eyes sparkling. " Surely you have never been one of such bashfulness," he stated. " It is not as if you have never tasted the fruits of the flesh for yourself. You are young but far enough past your majority."

To hear the one he had such affection for speaking of his love life only caused him to cough, almost dropping the platter of bread, cheese and fruit and the bottle of light wine he carried. Glorfindel laughed once again, surprised by the way the young one was acting and took the large plate away from him, setting it on a small table in the corner. He turned back and saw the look upon the other's face as he sat down in a chair beside said table.

" _Ai, Amin hiraetha,_" Glorfindel apologized, sitting across from him. " I truly did not mean to make you feel so uncomfortable. I had not known that you…"

" It's all right," he said quickly. " I just have not seen the need to. I…have not found the right person yet."

" Understandable," Glorfindel agreed. " Most look for their first to be a special, memorable time with someone you care for or know will not take advantage of you."

" You…speak as if someone who knows," he remarked. _Ai, Elbereth,_ he thought. _I am not talking about this with him…with Glorfindel!_ But at the same time he was curious. Who had been the golden-haired Elf's first? Had he cared deeply for him or her? Or had it merely been someone he knew he could trust?

" That is because I do," he replied. " Do not think me so elderly that I have lost my 'older' memories, even those of my 'first' time upon Arda."

" I do not," he said, almost a little too hastily. " I just believe you are the sort of Edhel that would not choose such things lightly. I…would believe you to be bound to the one you gave your heart to." But he knew that Glorfindel was not bound. He did not see the signs in his eyes. He saw age, wisdom, compassion, understanding, but he did not seethe signs of a wed Elf.

The blonde stared at him for a moment, searching his eyes far something that Andúnel knew not, but then gave a smile. " You are very observant," he replied. " I knew that about you when we first met. While your brother is a tactician, when his ire is not raised, you are the more calm and watchful of you both. Yet, you are also the one who is more willing to take risks, so…"

" I know," Andúnel finally felt himself beginning to relax in the presence of his secret affection (though to him It seemed more like a near-_affliction_). " Many have wondered over our personalities. They believe that our minds were jumbled like broken eggs and then split between us while still in our Adar's womb. We're not sure."

" It could be the similarity between your auras," the blonde mentioned. " No twins I have before known, though they are rare, have such equality and symmetry in every aspect of their spirits. Even your fath- Elladan and Elrohir have a difference, letting you sense that halving of their soul between each other."

" It is all right," Andúnel assured him. " I am not as angry as I was, neither is Amun, even if he is not so sure. Though I am still somewhat angry at them, and perhaps even a little at my _Ada_ as well, I am beginning to understand how this all came about."

" Legolas?" Glorfindel raised a curious brow.

" Each of them shares part of the blame," he sighed. " Though I admit that we are far more upset by the twins' reaction to all of this and how it has affected our father. They lied to each other, hid how they felt for so long and my father… We have always known that something was wrong, a thin shadow that veiled his thoughts and heart so many times when we would find him sitting in his room, staring off into space, or so tired that he would need to rest immediately. He hid it well under the pretense of the effects of our earlier birth…and we have only heard stories of Elves who succumbed to Grief."

" Do not put the fault upon yourself," Glorfindel told him. " None looked closely enough to see the truths. You could not have known, for as you yourself pointed out…you have never actually seen the affects of the Elven Sickness."

Andúnel didn't know how to explain it, seeing as hearing such comforting words come from others usually did very little to assuage his feelings (save when they came from his _gwanunig_ or from his father), but when the words came from Glorfindel…he did actually feel them. And at the same time they also left him feeling the heat rising in his skin upon his face, neck, and ears.

__

This is worst than I first believed, he thought apprehensively. _How can you feel so strongly for someone you barely know? The stories I have been told all of my life…do not do him justice. He's so much more… He's unbelievable._

" Andúnel?" Glorfindel touched his arm, bringing him back to the present, and sending a strange sensation up and down the aforementioned limb.

" I…was wondering of who it was that could have been worthy enough to be your first," he said, not truly thinking of what he was saying, save trying to shift the attention from himself. When he did realize what he had spoken, he was once again fighting to keep the embarrassed flush from showing upon his face.

" I am flattered you think so highly of me," Glorfindel chuckled. " But he was a far worthier Edhel than I. He was strong, in both body and spirit, loyal, determined, a true friend to a fault, and had been someone I had admired and cared deeply for since I was an Elfling."

" _You_, an Elfling?" Andúnel tried to be somewhat humorous, knowing he could not pass up such an opening.

Glorfindel laughed once more. " Yes, that WAS quite some time ago," he agreed. " But he had been a mentor for me, even though he came from a different House than I. Ecthelion, to me, had been on a different level than any other."

" Ecthelion?" the younger Edhel repeated. " Was he not the Lord of the Fountain in Gondolin who slew the Balrog Lord and was slain by it as well?"

" Aye," he nodded. " Though I always knew that, though I loved him and he succored as a child, in many ways, his heart always belonged to another. I also know now that my love for him was indeed like the naïve love of a child, for while it has never abated, it is not the love that would bind two souls together for eternity. He was dear to me, dearer than a friend, dearer than a brother, dearer than a parent, and in ways dearer than a lover, but it was still not the right type of love for soul-bound."

" You say that he was taken by another," Andúnel curiosity was peaked.

" Yes," Glorfindel nodded. " For who could have held his heart, devotion, loyalty, and friendship better than his king?" He then stood, placing a gentle hand on the auburn-haired Edhel's shoulder. " Do not dwell too much over such things. If you truly wish to wait for someone who you believe is special or who you believe your intended, than do so. But much time is wasted if you believe in the wrong person or if you are too unsure about the right one."

He then picked up the tray of food, which they had barely touched, and headed out of the healing wing. " I shall return this to the kitchen, for we have not eaten much and morning meal shall come soon enough," he turned to him. " The king shall show up within the next hour or so, but it is best that your fathers remain undisturbed until at least the sun has risen."

" All right," he nodded as he watched the golden-haired Edhel leave. He then leaned back in the chair he sat in and let out a deep sigh. Already he could feel the blush he had been trying so hard to hide coming forth, turning his face a deep shade of red. They had talked so openly, like two who had known each other for centuries. And yet, he still felt as if the blonde was so far above him.

__

Is this merely the love a child would hold for someone they admired? he questioned. _No, it would not keep such a hold over me if it were only that. Just the sight of him, the sound of his voice, everything about him…it leaves me feeling as if I need to throw myself into the Anduin, so consumed am I by the burning need._ He then gave a short, dry chuckle. _And it was he who gave me advice about my feelings._

He suddenly felt the blankness over half his mind. At first he was worried, but now then he calmed himself. Amúntel had blocked his mind from his elder twin for some reason, though he probably could tell why. He could no block all of the emotions he was feeling. The strange sensations caused him to blush once more. _Well…_ he sighed again, _at least one of us is getting somewhere._

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He stopped his assault, his chest heaving and his arm shaking from the exertion. Amúntel had not gone to bathe, but merely cleaned the blood and dirt from his hands and face. Afterwards, he had gone to find Ithinor, who had been awake in his chambers. Instead of fully explaining what had occurred, for he knew not how to do so, he had dragged the elder warrior outside to spar with him. As of now, it was becoming more relaxing, a way to settle his torrent thoughts and unusually insecure mind.

" Are you tired yet, _pen-neth_?" The raven-haired Edhel inquired.

" Not really." he gave a half-lie. " I just want to keep going. Needed the release."

Ithinor lowered his sword and the twin lowered his long knives, a gift both he and his brother had received from their father upon their passing of majority. The dark brown eyes stared into his own, searching them. " What is wrong, Amun?" he finally asked. " Something has happened, but not to Andúnel, for you would most assuredly not be out here with me. Has something happened to your father?"

The auburn-haired twin knew that he had to tell his mentor the truth. He had been a dear friend of his father's for very long and, even though he could feel that his father was no longer in danger, he knew that Ithinor would be worried until he told him something. " He- Adar is - WAS - fading from Grief, the Elven Sickness," he finally managed to get the words out, though they were forced as if they had been choking him within his throat.

" What?" The dark-haired Edhel was frozen by his words. " _Lhiw-Edhellen_? But, how is that possible? We would have known… For how long?"

Amúntel sighed, his eyes staring off at nothing. " Since before my brother and I were born."

" _Law,_" Ithinor could believe it. " You can sense the comings of grief. We would have known."

" He hid it, masked its presence, from everyone," the younger gwanunig replied. " If he had not collapsed last evening…"

Ithinor interrupted him. "_ Collapsed_?"

" Yes, Andúnel and I believed it to be the fatigue, but even that was false," his hands were beginning to hurt form how tight he held his knives. " The Grief… It has always been there, and he merely said that the fatigue he felt, the times he would lose himself, was due to our premature birth and the difficulties he faced during and afterwards."

" How could we not have known?" Ithinor sighed, moving to settle himself against one of the trees in the yard.

" T'would not have mattered, either way," the twin told him. " He was determined to face this alone, hiding his broken heart for as long as he lived."

" What do you mean 'broken heart'?" Ithinor asked him. " And why do you continued to say 'WAS'. There has been a dark tension surrounding this place since early evening, what has transpired?"

" Father…almost let go tonight…nearly gave in to his grief," Amúntel dropped to the ground beside his mentor, his eyes ever looking anywhere but at the elder Elf. " But now we have the truth about everything. Elladan and Elrohir know the truth…"

" You speak in jumbles," Ithinor stopped him. " Please, pen-neth, start at the beginning, from you knowledge. I wish to know everything and it seems that you need someone to speak to. Your spirit is heavily weighed by your worries and uncertainties. Where is Andúnel?"

" Andúnel…cannot help me with this," he explained. " We both feel this. T'would do no good for us to seek each other for understanding. We both need outside views. And he has someone who I know will help him."

" You are so somber, so cut off," Ithinor placed a comforting hand on the auburn-haired Edhel's leg. " Please, feel free to rant, worry, spout off anything, or even cry if you believe it would help. I cannot bear to see you in such depressing straits. Never before have you been so and I think it best that you do not start now."

Amúntel gave a weak laugh. If there was one thing that he adored about this Elf, it was how he was so willing to share the burden of another's sorrow. Ever had the other been someone who he could depend on, look up to, adore simply because he was kind, yet strong and firm when he needed to be. Since his majority, they had flirted playfully, but never enough for him to be sure what Ithinor actually wanted. Maybe now was the time to find out, he had learned that much from the ordeal, not to wait, lest something take away the only chance you have.

So he opened up to his long-time friend and told him everything. He told him of how he had attacked the human boy in the Stables, how they had been brought before the king. He told him of what had occurred after, the truth of his parentage, and the reactions of Sons of Elrond to the revelation. And he finally managed to speak of his father's Grief and the fear he had of losing him.

" And they are allowing him to fade?!" Ithinor was enraged, jumping to his feet. " I have always believed that the Sons of Elrond were noble and honorable, but now…"

" Nay!" Amúntel stood and placed his arms on the other's should, hoping to calm him some. " I said 'WAS'! Recall that is what I kept saying…'was'. They have realized what has been done. They care for Adar as much as he cares for them! It is they who have saved him!"

" 'Saved him'?" Ithinor visibly settled.

" Aye," he nodded. " I can feel it in my heart…in my soul. He is well now. They have bonded to him."

" If they have reconciled," the dark-haired Elf wondered. " Why are you so angry and confused?"

" That is exactly why I am confused!" he ranted. " I know not how I should feel! I have nearly lost my father this night, found out that my other sires are the Twin_ Peredhil_, which should make myself one as well, and now it seems as if things should be all right, but they are not!" He finally stopped, taking in deep breaths, before sighing. " I feel so…lost."

Ithinor didn't wait long before enveloping him in a comforting embrace. " Now it is you who should calm yourself, Amun," he soothed as he rubbed his back. " But after all that you have told me has transpired this past day, no one should expect you to be able to simply decide how to act in a few short hours, or even a few days. You have much to ponder on."

" I know," Amúntel nodded, trying to keep his feelings down. It was so hard to stay confused, angry, and hurt when he was being held like this by the elder Edhel. Everything was just fading away, leaving only he and Ithinor, locked together. He almost wished he could cuddle him, nuzzle his head against his object of his affection's neck. A deep intake of air finally pulled him from his musings…only to realize that he WAS nuzzling into the other's neck.

" Amun…Amúntel," Ithinor stilled his hand. " What are you doing?"

" Something I have waited decades to do," he murmured, unable to still his ministrations. Instead, he turned his head and breathed in the scent of the Silvan Elf, causing him to shudder when he breathed out.

" You… You shouldn't…" Ithinor started, but was cut off by the lips that overtook his own, seizing them in a way that screamed out what it was that the auburn-haired twin was feeling. The onslaught was too much for the other to handle, as he was overwhelmed and swallowed by the intensity of Amúntel's feelings towards him.

The younger twin would have laughed at how he was dominating the kiss, but was soon shoved back against the tree they had sat under, the control quickly taken from him. A flame was lit in his veins, spreading throughout his body like an untamed forest fire, eating away his resolved with its delicious heat. A questing tongue slid between his open lips, diving into his mouth and taking every inch to detail.

It was by some unknown force of nature (perhaps interference of the Valar themselves) that they were able to release each other, bodies thrumming with pleasure, breaths unstable, eyes alight with emotions they could no longer hide. Amúntel chuckled, his voice dry and soft. " Well…" he started. " If I had known…that you would be such a wonderful kisser…I would have done this sooner."

" Or perhaps 'tis _I_ who should have taken the first step," Ithinor pointed out.

" Nay," Amúntel laughed. " I enjoyed taking you by surprise."

" And surprise me you did," he agreed before capturing the soft mouth of the youth once more. Nothing between them was said for they already knew what it was both would say. They could feel it within them, the understanding and desire that took control. It was no longer a choice, but a NEED for them to accept this.

Amúntel also knew that they would not go any further then the delectable kisses and caresses that left his body chilled for a fire only his love could provide. It was what he needed, an escape from the direct situation that left him too tightly wound and unsteady to catch himself should he fall. No, he would think when his mind was fresh, clearer than right now. At that moment…he had more pleasurable things to do. He barely had enough lucidity to form the block between his brother's mind and his own. This was not something he would share with his twin. _Andúnel would die of embarrassment first,_ he thought offhandedly before being pleasantly drowned in Ithinor's ministrations.

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Translations:

Legolasiond - Sons of Legolas

Adar/Ada - Father/Dad/Daddy

Edhel/Edhil - Elf (sing)/Elves (pl)

Ai, Amin hiraetha - Oh, I am sorry

Gwanunig - Twin (sing. of Gwanûn - a pair of twins)

Pen-neth - Young one

Lhiw-Edhellen - Elven Sickness (Sickness of the Elves)

Law - No

Peredhel/Peredhil - Half-Elf (sing)/Half-Elves (pl)/Half-Elven

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JC: See? This chapter ended where we wanted it.

Kathrine: Actually, we had a different ending, but after out computer suddenly deleted it twice, we decided that it was where it was supposed to be.

JC: Next we will get into the aftermath. Legolas and the Twin Peredhil still have to face the music.

Kathrine: And we added we put more information about Glorfindel into this chapter, just because we love him so much.

JC: And now, please drop us a review and let us known what you think. As long as Real Life doesn't bite us in the butt again…expect a new chapter at the end of the week but before Saturday.

Kathrine: Wes till have to finish a chapter of another story. Everything has been greatly neglected.


	8. Chapter 8

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JC: Wow, we finally updated! Okay, stress…bad…screws up writing.

Kathrine: This is the second to last chapter!

JC: There is a REALLY big cliffhanger at the end of this chapter.

Kathrine: The stress made us do it!

JC: But we had planned to do it next chapter anyway… So I guess we just pushed it up a bit.

Kathrine: Sorry for the long wait, but at least it's here now. Enjoy.

Warnings: Slash, Fluff, little Angst, BIG CLIFFHANGER!!!!!!!!!!!

Disclaimer: We do not OWN LOTR per say…though we do get to decide what happens to the characters in this story.

__

Weight of the Burden

By Jennifer and JC

Chapter 8

Elrohir awoke slowly, his mind clouded with sleep still, though light was shining down upon his lidded eyes. A low half-moan escaped his throat as he stretched slightly, only to find that he was unable to move much. Allowing his eyes to regain focus, he caught sight of golden blonde, gleaming brightly within the illuminating rays of _Anor_, directly before his eyes. Scanning about, he realized that Legolas had shifted in the time they had slept, his body now lying mainly upon the younger twin, head cuddled into his chest under his chin.

" I see you have awakened," Elladan smiled at him from where he lay against the prince's back. " I feared that you were more tired than you admitted."

" I only found myself too comfortable to rise from such a peaceful slumber," he replied. " Now move so that I may shift him to his back. Legolas may indeed be quite light, even for an _Edhel_, but you,_ gwanunig-nín_, are not."

Elladan childishly stuck his tongue out at his brother. " As much as I would just _love_ to accommodate you," he said haughtily. " I am unable to move. It seems that _malternil-mîn_ has ensnared us both." It was then that Elrohir notice the hand that snaked around the blonde's waist, lodged tightly within the Wood-Elf's crossed arms. It was almost comical how the prince had ensured that neither twin would be able to leave him without causing enough disruption to awaken him.

" His eyes are not closed, his breath steady, his body hale and warm," Elrohir reached up his hand to touch the pale cheek. " He is still here Elladan, he has not left us in the night."

" From his precautions, he is more worried of US leaving HIM," the elder twin pointed out and continued when he saw the look upon his brother face, " Aye, we have bound ourselves to him, and you know as well as I that we will not separate from him, but he has always been self-conscious about such things. No matter the great warrior and prince that hides his insecure spirit."

" I know," he sighed. " But he is OUR insecure warrior-prince and that is something I will continue to point out to him. As much as he is now ours, we are his."

" And I will not let you go, never again."

Both twins turned their heads to the soft voice of the on crushed between them. " It seems our prince was not as asleep as he portrayed," Elladan chuckled. " Did you enjoy your rest?"

" I enjoyed what I awoke to much more," Legolas smiled. " I almost believed it was all indeed no more than a dream. A beautiful, yet bittersweet conjuring of my love-struck imagination."

" Nay," the twin whispered to him.

" We are as real as the wonderful gift that Valar have graced us with, 'less it too is some cruel imagery," Elrohir reassured him.

" Gift?" He didn't understand. " What do you speak of?"

" Ai, you silly Elfling," Elladan nuzzled his shoulder. " We speak of _you_."

The gentle, caring words lightened the blonde's spirit, causing him to smile and blush at the same time. " I love you, both of you," he stated.

" We know," the twins acknowledged. " As we love you."

" Good," he smiled.

" Your -_ Our_ sons will be glad to know all is well," Elladan said. " They will not have to slay us now."

" Sons," Elrohir finally let it all settled in. Before he was too angry, to upset and feeling betrayed to actually think of it. But now that he let the thought run through his mind, it filled him with complete elation. " We are fathers, 'Dan."

" Yes," Legolas sighed, a strain in his voice. " And I was the one who kept you from your children, kept you from watching them grow."

" Do not dwell on that now," Elrohir told him.

Elladan agreed. " The past is behind us now," he said. " We have all moved on, please do not look back at what we did wrong. We must instead think of what we did right. Look at our sons… They are wonderful, loyal, and noble. We could not have hoped for better. You have been the perfect _Adar_, Laiqualasse."

" All right," the blonde nodded. " We have an entire future to right all of the wrongs we have committed."

Elrohir smirked. " I believe we will enjoy that," he kissed the blonde's willing lips. " Think of how wondrous our reconciling will be." He then kissed him again. It was then that he heard the ruckus from outside the door. There was shouting, obviously from a certain very impatient Dwarf and more shouting, obviously from a very frustrated Gondorian King, and then laughter, certainly from a very amused Balrog Slayer.

" I knew our reprieve would not long last," Elladan sighed, reluctantly pulling away from his lovers to stand. He then picked up the discarded leggings from the floor, passing them out before putting his own on. " I could just picture what they would do should they walk in upon us completely bare."

Legolas let out a laugh as he tied his leggings up. " Gimli would be the only one with enough chastity to apologize or blush," he replied with a smile. " I had never thought a Dwarf could be so modest, but maybe that is simply towards seeing others in such an intimate way."

It was then that said Dwarf finally was fed up with waiting outside the door and burst into the room with an irritated flare, his eyes cut and his tall axe in hand. " I want to know _exactly_ what is going on and not being pacified by the lips of another!" he demanded. He then turned his eyes to the twins. " And should I find that YOU two are indeed the cause of all of this I shall…"

" Let it not be said that Dwarves are unable to dramatize things," Legolas laughed. " For surely they would become infuriated by being told them cannot accomplish something."

Gimli was about to give a snappy retort, but first notice that Legolas was sitting upon the bed, Elladan behind him with an arm around his chest, while Elrohir was in the process of resting stomach-down upon the mattress. " You look completely fine," he stated. " It appears as if nothing is wrong with you at all, save the fact that you are still too thin and you look as if you have not slept for more than a fortnight."

" THAT is what I have been trying to TELL you," Aragorn huffed. " He is no longer in any danger."

" Yes, thanks to _these_ two?" His eyes were staring between the Twin Sons of Elrond with curious contempt. " And it was just last night that I was told they had something to do with his formerly ill condition."

" That is true," Elladan decided it was best to have this all out now. " The three of us refused to acknowledge something that in the end hurt us all. But now we have hopefully redeemed ourselves and will never make that same mistake again."

Legolas gave a brief nod. " It is not only their fault, _elvellon-nín_," he explained. " I allowed myself to fall to a misguided heart and, believe me this, I would not be here before you now without them." He placed a hand upon Elrohir's shoulder while Elladan pulled him closer. " So please, do not be angered for me, rather be happy that for once…I am truly happy as well."

These words seemed to calm the Dwarf more than any others. He lowered his axe to a stiff position on the floor before letting out a sigh. " To think I came here ready to cut off a precious limb or two," he stated. " But it seems that now I must wait until one of them decides to go back upon their vows. For should EITHER of you step out of line in ANY manner, I shall be the one to show you the error of your ways." This caused all but Elladan and Elrohir to burst into laughs.

" I am glad," Glorfindel patted Gimli's arm. " I do not believe anything less than your axe would be able to get through their thick skulls."

Elladan gave a snort. " We are glad that you find threats upon our person to be so amusing." He then took a look at the three before him and asked a question he knew that he and his lovers had been wondering. " Where are Andúnel and Amúntel?"

" Waiting until I have seen that Legolas is well," Aragorn replied. " Although they swear that nothing is wrong with you."

The blonde gave a smile. " My sons and I share a bond," he stated. " They would know if something was truly wrong with me."

" Good," two heads poked themselves from around the corner of the door. " May we enter now?"

" Yes," the king sighed. The young Elves hurried into the room, rushing to their father's side. He then backed away, bringing both Gimli and Glorfindel with them. " We will await outside. You five have much to discuss." They shut the door behind them, ensuring that none would hear what was to be said with.

" How are you Ada?" Andúnel asked, going over his father's tired, yet happy appearance. Never had he, nor his brother, seen such a content look upon their father's face, or such life in his eyes. It was as if an integral part of him had finally been restored. _And I guess it has,_ he thought.

" I believe that everything is all right now," the blonde stood and wrapped both of his children in a reassuring embrace. " Never have I felt as I do now."

" So they make you happy?" Amúntel needed his belief to be confirmed. If there were any chance that the Sons of Elrond might bring more harm to his father, then he would waste no time in making sure they never stepped within the same realm as he again.

But he was brightened by the smile and lyrical tone in Legolas' voice. " Yes," he said, kissing his son on the brow. " They make me very happy. The weight I have burdened myself with for so long is gone, no more lies. Everything is truly well." He kissed Andúnel in the same manner as he had done his brother before and stepped back, allowing both sets of twins to stare at one another. " But perhaps it is time for you all to come to terms with each other."

Silvery grey eyes stared upon those that had sired them as said eyes stared back in return. There was an awkward tension in the room, none out of the four knowing what to say. It was finally Elrohir who let out low sigh, ready to end to stand still and said, " I know that you might still be quite upset with us…"

" That is where you might be wrong," Andúnel interrupted him. " We feel no ire towards you. We only don't understand why it took you so long to admit this to one another."

His younger twin added, " You say you love each other and yet you have hid it and denied it for so long. Why?"

The _Elrondiond_ looked knowing at each other and Legolas nodded, feeling their thoughts and emotions flittered across his conscious. " Fear brings about many things in a person," Elladan sighed. " We saw what loss did to our father, my mother's sailing nearly crippled him with grief. If not for his love of us and Arwen, and the vow he made to Gil-Galad, he would have either left with her or faded. And then Gilraen, Aragorn's mother, lost herself in the grief of watching her husband slaughtered by Orcs, leaving her son in the care of we in Imladris. We feared letting another that close to our spirit."

" We felt we needed no other, that we didn't have to deal with such a pain as the loss of our mate, for we had one another," Elrohir went on. " But we found that we were wrong. Legolas had always been dear to us, for he was such a gentle, loving Elf-child, who seemed to follow Glorfindel around wherever he went. Then he began to join us for short trips about Imladris and that was when his more 'mischievous' side started to show. To us he was the brother that we had never gotten."

" Brother?" Amúntel broke in.

" We are still considered young, in terms of how Elves age," Elrohir explained. " Though we are surely not as young as they consider your father. Had this been before the War of the Ring, your birth would be considered nothing short of scandalous, especially for the youngest heir to Mirkwood. But in a way, I guess his age was one of the reasons why we were less that willing to pursue anything with him."

" Why?" Andúnel wanted to know. " Why should his age have anything to do with the feelings between you? Should not the love be enough?"

" Oh, you dear child," Elladan laughed. " To know that someone still believes such things…but I guess that once the war was over, things did change. It appears to be for the better."

" Elladan," Legolas' voice held tinge of warning, and he could see the identical scowls upon their sons' faces.

" Many of our elders would have believed such a thing purely disgraceful, for that was the way things were," Elrohir cut in to save the conversation. " An Elf was not expected to remain 'untouched' after their majority, but to have a _child_ before they reached their first millennia? It was only after the devastation of the Silvan Elves at the Last Alliance that many saw the necessity of childbirths, but even then it was only accepted at eight centuries or older. Your father was just over his first half-millennia! We would have been thought pedophiles, no matter that he was of full consenting age! We find it truly refreshing that you believe so much in love."

" But why should you care what others think?" Andúnel pushed. " After reaching your majority, you are of full consenting age."

" Yes, and we were not ignorant to your father's beauty," Elladan's words caused a light blush to creep across said blonde's cheeks. " But we also saw how many desired him and sought to discourage them from such petty lust. What hypocrites would we be if we exactly what we threatened others against?"

Legolas' eyes widened. " You threatened Elves who sought after me?" He then frowned. " I was no child. I could have handled myself if need be!"

" As you can see, your father is blind to his own allure," Elrohir pointed out, smirking at the deep frown marring his love's lips. " 'Twas not merely Elves who enjoyed looking at him and then you WERE a child. All we did was warn them against trying to get you into their bed if they sought to break your heart afterwards. Although I do recall an 'incident' where a Man suggested…" His words were halted by the hand that suddenly found itself over his mouth, even if it was too late… Legolas could read all of their thoughts within his mind. The blush returned.

" That is quite graphic in detail," the blonde stated. " But I still do not think it would have been wise to castrate him, no matter the unsavory thoughts he kept for he did not act out upon them."

" Especially since he was the son of the Steward of Gondor, in Rivendell for an awkward diplomacy conference," Elrohir agreed. " But that was over five hundred years ago and only forty years after your mother's death. It had been your first trip to Imladris since and Elladan was feeling highly protective."

" What are you talking about? What did he say?" Amúntel almost demanded, his eyes cut.

" That is something that I wouldn't tell you, even if you weren't my son and a thousand years older," Elladan stated, sparing a half-glare to his twin. " And it was settled, the man was ordered by my father to stay away from Legolas and his body remained intact. He was gone from Rivendell two days later."

" And the relations between Gondor and Imladris became nearly non-existent after that," Elrohir put in.

" But that is all in the PAST," the elder of the two said harshly. " We need not dwell on how those things transpired."

" But our sons have asked us a question and I know that we want to answer it 'thoroughly'," the Elf-knight smiled innocently. He then turned back to the other set of twins. " Your father came to Imladris because your _Ata'da_ worried for his mental state, as he had become quite closed off, unfortunately there was very little we could do for him. It was as if the _Edhel_ that we had come to care so much for was gone.

"It was then that we began to notice certain 'feelings' towards him that were not simply platonic or brotherly. We plainly ignored them for they were certainly not proper to have towards one so young. When he left… we thought that he was lost to us, he was so filled with despair and the need for revenge. It was so wrong that one his age would feel such a need to fight like we did at that time. We did not see him again for over an entire century."

" We were told of how you helped him," Andúnel nodded. " Is that when you first realized your true feelings?"

" Actually, we did not _truly_ know that what we felt was love until that night aboard the Corsair ship," Elrohir admitted. " We spoke of friendship and being there for him should he need us…and yet…that was not what we wanted anymore and we knew it. It suddenly struck us how wrongly those words described how we felt. Little be known that it was also the night that he would seek to have a symbol of his love for us, you two."

Elladan gave a brief nod. " You know we never admitted that it was you who helped us all that long time ago, when we wanted revenge of our own for our mother," he suddenly stated. " We would be long dead if not for you,_ malternil-nín_."

" Me?" Legolas gave an inquisitive look. " What had I done for you? If I remember, and I remember well, you were the ones to help me see the truth behind my vengeful behavior."

" Yes, but you were the one who gave us the strength to see past our own hate," Elrohir explained. " We finally saw what others saw in us. You had once been so full of life and yet then you were so dark and filled with hate that was not meant to overcome one with a spirit such as yours. How could we hope for you to see past your pain if we had not done the same for ourselves? We finally understood the pain others held when they saw us for we felt that same pain when we looked at you."

" _I_ was the one who helped you?" Legolas was somewhat taken aback by the emotion and sincerity in his lover's words and in their thoughts. " Why did you ever tell me of this before?"

" Because there was no need to," they shrugged. " You saw the truth without us having to reveal to you all of the details behind our own epiphany. And it took us a long time to realize why it hurt us so much to see you filled with shadow. Arwen was the one who saw through us, who knew for so long. She would leave us small hints, pointing out things that we would do with you and you alone, or how we were so protective of you above all others. We merely wrote it off, ignoring her words. Now we see how truthful they were."

" Thôredhel and Glosshen knew," Legolas sighed. " They knew how much I cared for you and after I gave birth to the twins, they believed that we had finally joined with each another. But when they saw no signs of a binding in my eyes, they demanded I tell the truth. But I swore them to remain silent until I found the courage to tell you myself. I believe also that Adar knew something, but as he had taken to doing since my majority, he stayed back. He knew I wanted to handle things like grown Edhel and left me to do it. His hands-off approach became more strained as the years went by without me actually _doing_ anything."

" I swear you three are quite immature," Amúntel suddenly spoke. " All of this could have been avoided if you had just decided to be honest with one another. Everything would be so different." The elder three stared at each other before breaking into light laughter. The younger twins had no idea what had taken over them.

" You…are right, as we've said before," Legolas acknowledged. " Though you are no one to speak of immaturity _ion-nín_."

" Were you not the one that just yesterday fought like a young child to defend your father's honor?" Elladan inquired.

" _Exactly_," Amúntel smirked. " Immaturity is inherited, from both sides if the tales we were told about your 'escapades' in Imladris are any proof."

" Glorfindel does enjoy reminiscing, doesn't he?" Elrohir glanced at his brother. They shared a smile, but then sobered. " As you can see, _gwanur-neth_," he returned to their original topic. " No longer are we confined by our past restraints. Love is something we shouldn't have denied, whether it was due to age, friendship, or fear. It is not something that should be let go of easily and we finally understand that."

" You're going to take good care of him?" they asked in unison.

" I am capable of caring for myself," Legolas pointed out to them.

" As you've done so wonderfully until now," Andúnel snorted, with a smile. " But as long as they love you as much as you love them…we will not hold any grudges against them." Amúntel motioned in agreement.

" We are glad to have our sons approval," Elrohir smiled.

" We shall do our best to live to your expectations," Elladan replied.

Legolas stepped forward and pulled his lovers to their feet, bringing them to stand directly before their younger counterparts. " My loves, these are your sons," he raised his hand towards the auburn-haired _Edhil_. " You have already taken to calling them so, can you not embrace them as such as well?" He the turned to the two he himself had carried and birthed. " They are the father I spoke of, ones worthy of your regard, let this put all in the past where it belongs."

Both pairs of twin stood staring at one another, unsure of how to handle the more than awkward situation. They had embraced before in the past week or so since their meeting, out of friendship and merriment, but now there was more to it, something deep and final. They could not simply play this out as something within mere comradeship, for there was so much more to it. It symbolized the reconciling of a bond that had almost been lost before it had even been forged.

" It is good…" Amúntel started, boring into Elrohir's eyes. " It is good, to finally know that our other sire - sires - are more than some nameless elf upon another shore." He extended his hand, knowing that his brother was doing the same towards Elladan. Elrohir stared at him outstretched limb with near-reverence before pushing it aside to wrap his son tightly in his arms. Elladan pulled Andúnel to him by the hand, wrapping and arm around his back with a wide smile upon his face.

Legolas watched the whole ordeal, feeling as if nothing had ever been wrong his world. Everything was right for once. It was then that he felt the slight change in him, as if something had occurred that he had not realized. It was warm and reassuring, like the golden rays of the sun shining down from the window on the other wall. But all that meant to him was that it was final, everything was going to be all right from now on.

It was then that Gimli burst into the room, his face shrouded in distress. " You must come to the room down the hall!" he exclaimed. " Something has happened to Aragorn!" Legolas felt his heart lurch in his chest, all of his happiness fleeing with the weight of the new nightmare.

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Translations:

Anor - Sun

Edhel/Edhil - Elf (sing)/Elves (pl)

Gwanunig-nín - My twin

Malternil-mîn/nín - Our/My golden prince

Ada/Adar - Dad/Daddy/Father

Elvellon-nín - My Elf-friend

Elrondiond - Sons of Elrond

Ata'da - Grandfather

Ion-nín - My son

Gwanur-neth - Young twins

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Kathrine: How was that? Did you guys expect it?

JC: See? Not you're usually perfect ending. Or is it?

Kathrine: Bittersweet happiness, how we love to use thee.

JC: Now just leave us a review and tell us what you think. And no…we will not magically make Aragorn better.

Kathrine: Until next time!


	9. Chapter 9 An Ending and a Beginning

JC: This is it! The end of WotB!!

Kathrine: It's a bittersweet ending. Don't expect totally fluffies, we're not good at that.

JC: Anyway, this is dedicated to Eressë, who it the embodiment of support, and Mienpies, who drew us this beautiful picture of Andúnel and Amúntel. Thanks guys!

Kathrine: This chapter has that BIG character death we've been warning you about. I bet you can tell who it is by now. But it probably won't be the way you expected it.

JC: And it also has that question you've been asking… What about Glorfindel and Andúnel?

Kathrine: We hope you all enjoyed this fan fiction.

JC: Me and Jen enjoyed writing it. Kathrine only liked that someone died in the end. EVIL!!

Kathrine: What can I say, I'm a sadist.

JC: She's the reason why Legolas is so tortured. But you guys enjoy having him hurt or you wouldn't read our stories.

Kathrine: Also, there is a BIG ANNOUNCEMENT at the end of this. But you'll heave to read to get there.

Warnings: Major Character Death, Angst, Drama, Slash, Mpreg, THE END

Disclaimer: WE DO NOT OWN LOTR!!! Although, we do own our wonderful Twins.

__

Weight of the Burden

By JC and Jennifer

Chapter 9

He stared down at the weakened body on the bed, breathing soft, yet labored. Never before had his friend's age seemed more apparent than it did at that time. His eyes were closed, although he knew he was awake. It was just too much work to keep them open now, and he cursed the King's mortal more now than he had ever done before in all their years together. It was that very blood that was taking his friend from him, stealing the noble soul he had come to cherish.

" 'Lass…" The soft shortening of his name whispered in the quiet room echoed in his soul.

" I am here, _mellon-mir nín_," he assured him. He took up the pale thin hand on the bed and rubbed it between his own.

" Ar…Arwen…where…?" the voice began to fade away.

" She has gone to get you something to eat," Legolas replied. " She will be back soon."

" No…get…time…"

He knew what those meant and wasted no time in forcing his growing body to its feet and hurrying to the door. To his luck, he opened it just as a young servant girl was passing by. " Gelimae," he called, knowing her name from the long time he had spent in this corridor where she always worked.

" Yes, Lord Legolas?" she turned to him. " Do you or the King require anything?"

" Please send for the Queen from the kitchens and Prince Eldarion," he told her. " You know who else to inform, we have readied for this. Do it with the utmost haste!" Realizing what the _Edhel_ was speaking of, the young woman nodded before rushing off to do as she was bid.

The blond Prince turned around and immediately returned to his friend's side. " Your beloved is coming, Estel," he told him. " As are those who love you most. Please, do not leave just yet."

A sad smile crossed the aged features before grey eyes finally opened into slits. He stared up at his companion before giving a short shake of his head. " _Amin…hiraetha_," he said. He then took in a deep breath. " What paths…we lead…you and I…"

" Save your strength Aragorn," the Edhel advised him.

" If I must…use the last of…my strength," Elessar countered, "…I would say farewell…to those I…love…"

The door burst opened and Legolas backed from the bed as Arwen rushed to the side, kneeling down. " Oh, _Estel-nín_," she whispered sadly, but no tears in her eyes. " Why be it now that we must part?" The dark-haired Man raised his hand to touch the face that no longer was eternally young. The stress from her husband's illness had only brought about the aging faster.

The fright of that day long ago, Aragorn's collapse in the hall outside of Legolas' sick chamber, had only been the first of many. Who would have thought it to be the heart that had loved so deeply, that had dedicated so much of itself, that had proven its worth time and time again…who had believed it to be the weakness that would bring down such a Man?

A week had passed after and Aragorn was well once more, but never would he be the same. He became weaker in the year after, unable to do the simply recreations he had once loved, but still competent in mind as King. But in the months to come, the fatigue became too much and he would have to rest more, and then the stress became worrisome. Eldarion had been called home from his time with the _Dúnedain_ and began to take on more his father's duties at court. Three years later, he held most if not all of the responsibilities and decisions of state.

Aragorn had not been afraid, had not complained, and later lost the frustration at his deceasing condition. He accepted what he knew became of all mortals. And yet he knew what pain that those around him would feel, the sorrow that they hid within their eyes rather than let show. They wanted to be strong for him, so that he wouldn't regret anything when the time finally came…but he could not help but regret everything that seemed unfinished, left undone.

" _Melamin_…" he smiled at Arwen. " We have had…a wonderful…life together… Do not…despair."

" No," she shook her head. " We will not be parted long." Her words were deep and binding and Aragorn knew that they were completely true. Rather than feel pain knowing that his death would lead to his beloved's own, he nodded, pulling her hand up to kiss with his dry lips.

" Father."

The others had arrived at the same time. Eldarion stepped past Gimli and into the room. His eyes remained trained on the bed, but he did not speak. His father turned his head to look upon him, eyes piercing and yet, saddened. The Prince did not get closer than a step or two from the bed. The two Telcontar said nothing to one another; it was not needed. They had spoken often in the time since the son had returned home and they knew all that need be passed between them. There was no use in sorrowful farewells.

Aragorn was the first to break their stare and then turned to those who had followed his son into the room. Legolas' sons stood by the door, not willing to look towards the bed. They were not as affected by his passing as others. They had been born into a world where Elves were nearly gone and were not as composed upon their own immortality. They had watched as many they had come to care for passed on, the Hobbits, Merry and Pippin, Lord Faramir, Lady Éowyn, their son Boromir, King Éomer, and even friends they cared for as children. Unlike most Immortals, death to them was almost common.

He then gazed over to Gimli, whose eyes were beginning to fill with tears, though he would never admit it. The Dwarf crossed to the other side of the bed and placed a comforting hand upon his shoulder. He had not been able to escape the wearing of time, either. His beard was now completely grey and all that was left of his fiery red color was the few thick streaks within his braid upon his head. But Aragorn knew that he would not remain here long, his brothers had already spoken to him of the gift not yet received from their grandmother. He was not even sure that Legolas knew of it yet.

" You are the best your race ever had to offer, more than any one of us will ever be," Gimli pronounced. It seemed to be all that he could muster, for fear of becoming overly emotional and losing control of himself.

" I fear…what I would…have lost out upon…had I not met you…Master Dwarf," Aragorn replied. " Since the beginning…we've had great…tales between us… Do not fear…to enjoy what…gifts you have…been given…" There was confusion at the dark-haired man's words, but Gimli was too taken by the sincerity of them. The tears did fall then, trickling down from his green eyes and onto his cheeks and beard.

He turned then, leaving his beside and then the room. The younger set of twins watched as he departed. " You have always been like the _Adar_ we did not know," the younger _gwanunig_ stated.

" You helped to raise us and we are grateful and cherish all of the time we have spent together," Andúnel continued. " We will not forget you or anything you have done for us." They bowed and then left, gong after the depressed Dwarf. Legolas watched them leave and felt the need to go after them. He wanted to comfort his children, but that they would deal with their grief on their own. They would be greatly saddened, but would not lose themselves to it.

A gentle hand touched his shoulder and then Elrohir and Elladan finally stepped forward, something they had hesitated to do. He knew how hard it was for his lovers when they had to let go of their mortal companions. They knew and understood death, but it still made it no easier. They had helped to foster the Heirs to Isildur's line for over a millennium, but they still felt the loss when they finally succumbed to their mortality.

" Estel, do not regret the life you have lived," Elladan told him, tears already upon his cheeks. " You have accomplished so much, loved so deeply, acted so selflessly, and lived so fully. There should not be anything to regret, though you may believe otherwise."

Elrohir nodded and he gave his sister an understanding embrace, though her hand was still clasped within her husband's. " Your children are grown, strong, and beautiful," he pointed out. " Your people are strong, hale, and happy. Please do not feel sadness for those still here,_ muindor-nín_." Elladan gave the man a brief, yet loving kiss upon the brow before backing away from the bed.

" There is nothing more than can be said, Aragorn, so of Arathorn," Glorfindel said. " Though your memory and body will be gone, your spirit will not be forgotten. I am honored to have known you." He placed a hand upon his heart, showing his salute to the King, before giving a low bow. Aragorn took his free hand and placed it over his own heart as well, taking in a deep breath as he did so.

The Lord of Eryn Gael remained still. He knew not how to approach that which he knew was inevitable. He knew that sometimes death was the certain end to many things, but that made it no easier to swallow. Would he have to watch Gimli die as well? Would he be the last of the Fellowship to leave Middle Earth? It was unknown to him whether or not Frodo and Sam were still living in Valinor, if mortals were given such a gift. Were they actually dead? Would he mourn all of the Fellowship, save he himself? Even Gandalf he had thought dead for some time.

But he's more than just part of the Fellowship, he thought. _I've watched him grow since he was a child, watched many of his mistakes, felt many of his achievements… How do you let go? All of the times we've spent together, all of the adventures we've shared…even before the Quest. Is this why my Father warned me against befriending mortals? Because of the hole they would leave in me once they were gone?_

Aragorn saw the indecision in his eyes. He knew that this would not be as easy for the blonde to accept. Death was something the blonde had never learned to handle well. After years of working together in Ithilien, rebuilding the broken forest, sharing each other's confidences, Legolas had mourned Faramir for many weeks. To lose someone that was so dear to him as Aragorn… There was no foretelling how he would react.

" I…know not how to say goodbye," Legolas started, his voice soft and despairing. He placed a hand against his large, swollen stomach. " How do I accept that you won't be here to witness the birth of this child as you were with the twins? How do I tell of you when it is nothing like you being there to watch him grow?" He closed his eyes, not even fighting to keep back the tears.

He finally gained the courage to get closer, letting his hand trace the aged lines of the still strong jaw and high cheekbones. Aragorn gave a weak shake of his head at the deep sorrow emanating from the Immortal being. " Do not…despair…now," he told him. " In another time…another place…things will be different…"

Recalling the conversation they'd shared when he had been dealing with his own troubles, Legolas managed a smile, the words more comforting than anyone else in the room, save them two, would understand. " Yes, _meldir nín_," he agreed. " In another time, another place. Perhaps somewhere, in a future unlike our own, it is that time."

He then lowered himself as much as he could and gave brief, yet loving, kisses to the man's cheeks and brow. It was when he was about to give one to his lips as well that Aragorn reached out shakily and stopped him. Legolas understood why when he saw the expression within his eyes. " I know," he whispered. " It is not that time…nor is it the place." He struggled to his feet and looked at Arwen. " I know you wish to have with him alone." He turned and walked out the door, his lovers leaving with him.

As Elrohir shut the door, Legolas leaned heavily against the wall, Elladan checking over him. The twins knew that their lover was drained, exhausted from his ever strong vigilance of watching over Aragorn. Over the past year, Legolas had given up his Lordship over Eryn Gael, knowing that it would not matter. The firsts of the ships that would carry them to Valinor was nearing completion and there was not one Edhel left in Ithilien that would not being accompanying him on this final journey. They would be the last Elves to leave Middle Earth. All others had made the choice to forever remain.

But Legolas was nearing time for the birth of their child. He was already twelve months along, having a much healthier pregnancy this time than with the twins. They had wondered what day he would give birth, although the blonde said he knew the date, but would not release it. The Peredhil merely decided to wait it out, readying themselves for anything. They had not, and _would not_, miss a single event in this child's journey into life and after.

" I…" Legolas didn't know what to say. He was sure that his lovers were curious about what had transpired within the room, but could not completely explain it.

" 'Tis all right,_ malternil_," Elladan rubbed his hands over his arms. " We understand that it is not something for us to know. What you shared with our brother was something very deep, very binding. It was deeper than physical love, yet not sexual in any way."

" Maybe," he sighed. " Maybe more than you know." He could still hear those precious words, spoken to him with true devotion and a wistful tone. And even his reply had been sincere and true, if only the future had not been this future. But it had not, for it _was_ this future, this path, and they had to make choices of what options they had been given, find happiness in those open to them.

Even so, he thought. _I cannot regret the love I have finally found, as he would never regret giving his heart and soul to his Evenstar Queen. We would still make those same choices in this life if given the chance, for this was not the time to change them._ And he knew that they were happy with that.

/ _" You know 'Lass, if…times has been different…I would have fought for your heart…perhaps we could have lived a happy life together…" _/

/ _" We would have been very happy, meldir nín, very happy… Had it been but another time."_ /

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****

Epilogue

He stood at the head of the ship, letting the precious sea wind tussle his golden mane. He could just see the outline of land out before them, showing that they were finally nearing their destination. It would not be long now before he was reunited with those he had let go before him. His father had only left three years before, unable to withstand the wait any longer, taking both Goldhînen and Thôredhel and leaving Eryn Lasgalen to finally be lost within the world of Man's myth and legend. It had only been a few months after the death of King Elessar Telcontar and the crowning of the King Eldarion Telcontar.

Glosshen and Lagorwest were aboard the ship with him, most likely playing some strategic game in their quarters that the elder of the two would playfully claim Glosshen had cheated on. They performed this ritual at least once a day to keep themselves occupied on the long voyage. It was also to stem Lagorwest's excitement at finally being able to reunite with his beloved, who had left over a century before when Lady Galadriel journeyed to the Undying Lands. Legolas held no doubts that Rumil probably missed his brother as well.

" _Ada_!" He turned and opened his arms to the small form rushing towards him. The child quickly leapt into his arms, hiding his head in the crook between his shoulder and neck.

" Come back here you little ruffian!" the bellow of the familiar accented voice followed the heavy steps.

" What has been done now, Gimli?" he asked when the Dwarf came into view, noticing that his lovers were right behind him.

" The miniature version of yourself thought it would be enjoyable to add water to my pipeweed!" he snorted. " That was my last!" He quickly spared a sharp glare at the two dark-haired Peredhil who stood behind him, small snickers coming from their throats.

" _Arestel_," Legolas admonished.

" I thought it was an herb Ada!" he explained, his hand nervously twirling the end of his single golden blonde braid. " I just wanted to try to make a s-sal-sal…"

" Salve," he gave him.

" Yeah, salve!" he replied. " I'm going to be a healer!"

" You are?" Legolas replied, awe in his voice for the benefit of his small _hên_. " Well, you should wait a little while longer before you begin your training, _pen-neth_. Soon you will meet Lord Elrond, one of the greatest healers of our kind. You may ask him any question you want and mayhap, when you're old enough, you may become his apprentice."

" Elrond?" the child's eyes were wide at the familiar name. " You mean _Ata'da_ is a_ healer_?"

" Yes," Elrohir nodded. " Our father is a great healer. He will be happy to teach you."

" Yay!" the child jumped about in his father's arms, silvery grey eyes shining with excitement.

Legolas laughed at the energetic child's actions. " Okay, it is nearing time for dinner," he looked out at the beautiful setting sun. " Apologize for watering down Uncle Gimli's detestable smoke-weed and then go find your brothers. You all should get ready for evening meal."

The child gave a brief mischievous smile but climbed out of the blonde's lap and stood before the sturdy Dwarf. "I'm sorry for wat-watering down your detes-detest…" he started.

" That's enough _Estel-tithen_," Elladan smiled. He gave a small push on the ellon's back. " Go find your brothers." The child nodded before hurrying off calling out his brothers' names constantly.

" No matter how upset you get with him…" Gimli sighed.

" You can never stay mad with him for long," Legolas chuckled. " I wonder if I was that adorable at his age."

" Who do you think he inherited it from?" his lovers asked in unison.

Gimli let out a breath of defeat, throwing his hands up in the air. " And he inherited his roguish ways from all three of you!" He pointed an accusatory finger at Legolas. " How many times did you yourself 'water down my detestable smoke-weed'?"

" Only twice or thrice…" he replied, " …a season."

" Bah!" the Dwarf shook his head, knowing that he could not win this particular battle. " I shall ready for meal, send for me when it is prepared." He headed off then, mumbling beneath his breath about crazy elves and their trickster offspring, knowing perfectly well that the three could hear him.

The twins snickered once more as he left them, knowing that their grandmother had indeed made the right choice. The Dwarf would be welcomed into Valinor by the immensity of his deeds, the favor of Galadriel, and by the wondrous strength of the friendship he shared with Legolas. For a Dwarf to have done so much for Middle Earth, and broken such barriers between his race and that of the _Edhil_, the Valar welcomed him.

" He's growing up so fast," Legolas whispered. " Soon, he'll want to start riding horses and everything else that he shouldn't do. He's only three."

" If I remember," Elrohir recalled, " you were barely older than he when you decided you were grown enough to climb the huge oak in your father's courtyard. You fell and broke your left arm, your ankle, your collarbone, and had a concussion that lasted for four days. Your mother almost had the tree cut down when you said you were going to 'do better' next time."

" But I was a foolish child who didn't listen when I should have," he admitted. " I don't want him to have to make mistakes like that to realize what is right or wrong." It was obvious that his words held more meaning than appeared at first thought.

" Mistakes are what shape your decisions in the future," Elladan replied. " He needs to have some slips if he's going to be strong enough to conquer the entire mountain."

" But I don't want him to slip too far," he stated.

" Then we'll just have to be there to make sure that he's able to get up again," Elrohir assured him. ' He won't be alone. We'll always be there for him. He's going to be a handful, but we'll get through it. Together."

Legolas thought on those words. Indeed, their son had been quite an energetic handful ever since he was born. He had been born barely into _Gwaeron_, just as _rhîw_ was coming to an end, the thaw already releasing nature from its icy grasp. And it had been exactly on the day he had believed, Aragorn's birthday. It had only been enough to settle his final fears. For, whether or not Men went to anything like where Edhil journeyed, Estel was watching over him and his child.

His lovers had been with him through everything, comforting him when he felt depression creeping, or when his anger was out of control. They had helped him when he decided to take the duty of watching over Aragorn, even though they believed it would only stress him and cause problems for the baby. In the end, when his friend had passed, he had cried, he had mourned, but he went on. He knew that Estel would not have wanted him to remain sinking in a pool of despair and so he did not.

Instead, he readied for his child and helped prepare Arwen for her journey. She would go to Lothlórien, to spend her last days in the realm she had felt most at home. But the twins had almost not gone with her. They had been so worried that he would give birth while they were gone. Legolas had finally forced them into joining their sister in her last journey, reassuring them that Arestel would not come until they had returned. He had been right. He had come the very next day after their arrival.

" We should reach shore by tomorrow at noon," Elladan commented offhandedly, his eyes on the horizon. " We'll finally get to see everyone again."

" _Naneth_…" Elrohir whispered.

" Yes, your mother will be waiting," Legolas agreed, but suddenly became somewhat thoughtful, realizing something he had not encountered before. " Do you think she would have approved of your choice, of me?"

" Approved?" Elladan gave laughed. " She would have tried to force us into a bond long ago! Valar, she would have adored you."

" Aye," Elrohir agreed. " You are everything she would have looked for in a mate for us." He kissed the blonde's lips, wrapping his arms around his waist. " Everything we ever wanted."

Elladan came up behind him, completing the embrace. " 'Tis it not strange how everything has worked itself out?" he asked. " Our love is strong and beautiful, we have a wonderful child to raise together, and our twins finally have everything they ever wanted."

" Yes, I see what you mean," Elrohir agreed. " Before stepping off that shore, Middle Earth gave us the most precious gifts we could ever have. We said goodbye, but we will never forget the wondrous people, adventures, and bonds it gave us."

Indeed, everything had been perfect when they left. Amúntel and Ithinor had been bonded to each other for five years now, and it seemed like they could not go an hour without proving their love to each other in some physical manor. Kisses, caresses, sexual innuendo in every sentence, the two were some of the most passionate lovers he had ever known of.

But where as Amúntel's love was passionately open and physical, Andúnel had only captured his closed and even skittish lover eighteen months before. Glorfindel was a hard, yet worthy catch the elder twin had not given up upon. Exclusive walks, lengthy conversations, subtle flirtation, special 'gifts' sent by a secret admirer. In the end, it had been a lesson from Amúntel's own actions that led to Glorfindel's failing reserve. He could no longer deny that he felt a deep 'something' for the auburn-haired Edhel and in the passing of two hours (though he still did not know what has transpired) they had finally given themselves to one another.

They were happy, though a quiet companionship. Neither felt the need to pronounce their love in everything they did for they believed they felt it deeply enough in their hearts and souls. Rather, they would instead perform small tasks for one another and give small thoughtful gifts. Where his twin was carnal with his love, Andúnel was subtle romance. From how strong and deep their relationships were, it seemed that both were right in their paths.

" Middle-Earth was kind to us," Legolas stated. " She will always been remembered in my heart as home and love, my passing maiden who gave so much and expected so little. I will miss her, but I know that she will grow without us and, perhaps, one day we will return to see how she has flourished." He turned to look out at the sun, barely above the horizon now, bringing them into a calm night of passage on the tranquil sea. They would reach their new home soon, ready to live on with their loved ones and their people.

Perhaps Nana is there already, he thought._ She could be on the shore, waiting for me and my brothers, Adar at her side. Everything will finally be as it should be._ He wasn't afraid of the future anymore. He knew that everything would play out as it was meant to and he no longer had to believe he was alone. He'd found everything he had ever wanted in life and needed nothing else.

See Estel? he gazed up at the stars that were already beginning to shine, leading night's path into the sky._ I'm actually living now. You don't have to worry about me in the afterlife. Take your love and be happy with her as I will with mine. It is time to let go of the past and would-be futures and embrace what we already have…happiness._

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Translations :

Mellon-mir nín - My treasured friend

Edhel/Edhil - Elf (sing)/Elves (pl)

Amin hiraetha - I'm sorry

Estel-nín - My Estel/My Hope

Dunadan/Dúnedain - Ranger (sing)/Rangers (pl), Man/Men of the West

Melamin - My love

Adar/Ada - Father/Dad/Daddy

Gwanunig - Twin (sing)

Muindor-nín - My brother

Meldir-nín - My dear one

Malternil - Golden Prince

Hên - child

Pen-neth - Young one

Ata'da- Grandfather

Estel-tithen - Little Hope

Gwaeron - March

Rhîw - Winter

Naneth/Nana - Mother/Mom/Mommy

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JC: That is the end. This was a very enjoyable story and we hope that the ending came out as well as we wanted.

Kathrine: If you hadn't guessed, Arestel means 'Noble Hope'.

JC: We thought it would be fitting, and it wasn't until AFTER was had settled on it, that we realized it fit the pattern of beginning with an 'A' and ending in 'EL'.

Kathrine: If your wondering using the 'star' definition like we've shown with both sets of twins, it roughly means 'Noble-named star'.

JC: Okay, announcement time. Due to the need for actually getting into our writing career, we will be taking a break from fan fiction writing.

Kathrine: We don't know how long this break will be, but we are setting ourselves up to accomplish a goal we set when we were in the fourth or fifth grade.

JC: We want to have an actual novel published by the time we graduate high school. Seeing as we only have two years left…we want to get to it.

Kathrine: We know you're upset because we have our two other stories unfinished, but those two will be LONG epic-like stories that need more time than will be spent on them.

JC: We're not giving up on them, only taking a break to work on something else.

Kathrine: It is not only LOTR fandom we're taking a break from. We're halting everything.

JC: We just wanted to make sure we finished this story first.

Kathrine: And with all of that said…this is a great big, See ya LATER.

JC: We hope that we'll have grown in our abilities in writing by then and can say 'Go Pick up on Book!'. For more of an explanation, check out our little blog http: darkness . forwriters . org

Kathrine: Navaer…Farewell.


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